Table of Contents
ASI Spotlight
Feature Article What Indexing Is All About, by Larry Edmonson
Window on Web Indexing What is Web Indexing?, a new column by Kevin Broccoli
Web Sites Customer Service
Tips TennWords Guide to E-mail Etiquette
The Answer Guru Getting References
Computing with TennWords Indexing a Periodical using Sky Index, by Michelle Robertson
TennReviews Susan Holbert's Basic Indexing Video Workshop
What's Cooking? Cajun Fried Shrimp, Boston Brown Bread Muffins, Vegetarian Eggplant Enchiladas, EPCOT Corn MuffinsReturn to the Tennessee Regional Group Home Page
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- Be sure to check out the latest on Racing into the Millennium, the 1999 Annual Meeting of ASI. Make your plans in advance. Information about some of the presentations, roundtables, and workshops is posted, as well as hotel and recreational information. Sandi Schroeder has said that since the hotel is catering the meeting (and doesn't allow brown bagging), just contact her if you have food restrictions that need accommodating.
_______________ by Larry Edmonson
Lisa, who works in the adjoining office, is out sick. The boss comes to you and demands to be told where Lisa put the all-important Mega Corp. contract. If you are an indexer, you may ask the boss, "Did you check under 'M' in her filing cabinet?" However, if you are a really good indexer, you just may say, "It's in the middle stack of the three piles of papers on top of her filing cabinet."
A good indexer understands people as well as words and ideas. A good indexer intuitively knows that humanity is divided into those who file and those who pile, and can direct both sorts of people to what they are looking for.
Indexing is fundamentally an act of communicating and creating, not an act of cataloging. Unlike a catalog, an index generally puts information where people will look for it, not where experts think they should look. Thus, in indexing, a focus on user needs and expectations is crucial. Memorizing The Chicago Manual of Style or resorting your cooking spices into alphabetical order will do little to educate an indexer as to what the user wants and expects.
How to Get Reader Input
How does an indexer find out where people will look? It can be as simple as asking them one by one or as complicated as doing formal surveys. When done by publishers, it is most often both of these plus a lot of intermediate steps. Examine how people access and use the data being indexed. The latter process can be as complicated as analyzing how dissertations are researched in various fields or as simple as being observant enough to note that cookbook users are often looking to put leftover ingredients to good use. Become an expert in how people are likely to use the book or computer data which you are indexing. This may call for perusing professional publications in a specialty area or reading the local newspaper with an eye to what interests the average citizen.
Active listening skills are very helpful. They permit intelligent follow-up. This can be important because index users are neither trained nor inclined to analyze and state clearly just what they want. I observed one conversation with a user whose generalized description of how he worked led to a follow-up question to which he responded, "I've never thought of it like that, but that's exactly what I'm looking for." Strangely, only one person in the room later recalled hearing the phrase "that's exactly what I'm looking for." This reaction suggests it may be all too easy to filter out unexpected answers if they don't fit our preconceptions.
So how do you get in touch with index users if you are not working for a publisher that does formal studies? One good place to start is with friends or relatives who read books or perform research by computer. If you live near a school or university, listen to students or faculty talking. Compare your personal use of indexes with the use others make and attempt to analyze the differences and similarities. Editors and authors tend to give distorted feedback but any information they obtain from purchasers of their work may be helpful.
What Answers Do You Want?
Reader input can hone your ability to discern the terms peculiar to a particular subject matter. It can educate you as to the degree of detail needed in any index. It can clarify how index structure fits into the picture. Doctors, lawyers, and accountants are all problem solvers. But each profession utilizes distinctive approaches and patterns of thought in solving problems. If you are indexing a publication intended for lawyers, don't think like a doctor or an accountant. Also, learn the terms of art used in particular specialties and understand both what they mean and when they are relevant. You need to know whether users are likely to think in concrete or conceptual terms, how sophisticated users tend to be, whether users in different demographic groups tend to have different needs and approaches, whether page makeup or screen layout is critical, and whether a longer or shorter index is appropriate.
When you do word searches of computer databases, try to remember what kinds of word patterns are successfully retrieved. (This is Point A.) Then compare these to a simple formulation of the question for which you needed an answer. (This is Point B.) The shortest distance between Point A and Point B may not be a straight line; it may be a good index.
Win the Prize
Who knows? You may even win my controversial "Indexer of the Decade" award which was last awarded to the compiler of a telephone book. Why controversial? Because it almost always produces threats that I will be thrown out of indexing meetings when I confess that the award was conferred for the first, last, and only time on the genius who created what I regard as the best index line I have ever seen.
The line? It was an entry for the local telephone company's main office listed under "FONE COMPANY."
Say what you will, but the creator of that entry was one person who really cared whether the user found the number for which he or she was looking.
_____Larry Edmonson indexes legal, tax, scholarly, and trade works; writes legal texts; and engages in developmental editing. He is Vice President-President Elect of the Western New York Chapter. Copyright © 1998. Larry Edmonson. Used with permission.
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_______________ Window on Web Indexing
a look at the future of indexing
by Kevin Broccoli
What in the world is Web indexing?
If you are currently involved in book indexing, you may recently have heard the phrase "Web indexing." Those that speak about it often refer to it as the "next wave in the indexing business" or "the future of indexing." Future articles in this column will focus on such things as: Is it all Just Hype?, Can I See Examples of Web Indexes?, Why not Just Rely on Search Engines?, What Tools are Needed in Web Indexing?, What Problems are Encountered in Web Indexing?, What About Indexing the Web?, Information Architecture and Indexers, and Marketing Your Web Indexing Services. Future articles will also answer questions submitted by readers.
But what exactly is Web indexing?
Different individuals have varying ideas as to what falls into the category of Web indexing. We will discuss everything that could remotely be called Web indexing.
The simplest form of Web indexing (although not necessarily simple to do) is creating indexes for Web sites. Web sites at the beginning of the Internet were small, relatively manageable productions. With time, though, some Web sites have grown rather large, and that growth has led to difficulty finding needed information. Although navigation bars and well-labeled links are helpful, an index puts the "cherry on the pie," Just as a well-written reference book needs an index in order to allow readers to find what they are looking for, so too, any large Web site needs an index to its content.
Another type of Web index is a collection of URLs on a given topic that actually point to other sites. In this manner, information which is spread out all over the Web is grouped together under main headings and subheadings. This allows a user who is interested in information regarding a rare disease, for instance, to find a wealth of well-organized links all in one spot. In fact, Yahoo! is actually a giant Web index since it does exactly what we have just described. However, what is needed are more specific indexes to address certain topics.
The last aspect of Web indexing is not always considered indexing by some. But one must at least admit that indexing skills are needed in this line of work. Simply put, it is the assigning of keywords to metadata. By metadata, we are referring to the information within the "keywords" tags at the top of HTML pages. By assigning proper key words, a site search engine (or even general Web search engines) will locate the pages once the user types these words into the search box.
It is extremely important to choose the proper keywords. If the indexer chooses terms which are too vague, searchers may be led to the page although they are not really looking for the specific information that is discussed there. On the other hand, if the indexer uses terms that are too narrow in focus, searchers may never think of these terms and will not be led to a page that contains pertinent information.
It is true that many search engines perform free-text searches, but there are definite benefits to keyword searches over free-text. But that is a subject for another article.
In any case, it is clear that there are various types of Web indexes, all quite useful in the never-ending quest for information.
_____
NEXT ARTICLE: "Is it all Just Hype?"
_____Copyright © 1998. Kevin Broccoli, of Broccoli Information Management. Used with permission.
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_______________ Clients are the lifeblood of indexing. No clients, no income. Therefore, every indexer needs to know how to take care of their clients. The following two web sites help explain what customer service is, how to provide it, and who decides what customer service really is.
Learn how to offer clients the assistance they crave at Customer Service 101.
Read excerpts from two customer service books. One selection is "Giving Your Customer Your Best", and the second is "Customer Care And Quality Service". If you are new to customer care, some of the revelations might surprise you, such as: "Customers are self-centered. Completely. They do not care about you or your business. At least not until they get to know you personally." Discover more ways to provide good client service and give added value to your services. Providing Good Customer Service was published in the Orlando Business Journal 1995 Business Survival Guide.
_____Return to the top of TennWords
_______________ TennWords Guide to E-mail Etiquette
Proper etiquette in e-mail can make the difference between being well-received or being ignored. Some indexers are new to e-mail and don't realize there is a standard protocol to follow. When these rules are broken, even unintentionally, it can produce very undesirable effects. Therefore, TennWords offers these standard etiquette tips. These simply equate to online manners. Miss Manners would be tickled pink!
- DO be concise. Reading on the screen creates more eyestrain.
- DO use paragraph breaks. Try to have no more than three or four sentences in one paragraph.
- DO use an appropriate subject line. While you may only receive a few e-mails each day, your e-mail recipients may be receiving several hundred e-mails a day, and most readers scan only the subject line instead of reading each e-mail. If you use something cute or catchy, it might be mistaken for advertising (or worse!) and face deletion without ever being read.
- DO use *asterisks* or ALL CAP LETTERS for emphasis. But don't overdo. The content of your e-mail should do more emphazing than the gimmicks.
- DO use a signature line. This is the equivalent of using a business card. Some items that can be included are: your name, title, company, telephone, fax, address, e-mail address, URL, and a brief description of what your company does. And, yes, some people insist on including a personal motto, which is acceptable in e-mail. Don't include pictures created by using alpha-numeric characters. Not all e-mail readers interpret these correctly because of font differences, and they may look like a bunch of trash.
- DO check for spelling and grammar. Some folks feel a certain amount of informality exists in e-mail that allows for errors of this type. However, for many indexers, we have ONLY a virtual presence. Put your virtual "best foot forward". If your e-mail program doesn't have spelling or grammar-checking capabilities, compose your e-mail in a software program that does, then simply "cut and paste" it into the body of the e-mail.
- DO use either emoticons or angle brackets to signal emotions and humor. These items are the "facial expressions" that readers of your e-mail cannot see on your face.
- DO limit your use of abbreviations. Use abbreviations that are typical in business. OYRTROCYR (Otherwise, You Run The Risk Of Confusing Your Reader). Eliminating abbreviations will also help you to slow down. See the next tip.
- DO take your time creating an e-mail. The medium has a tendency to induce quick crafting without thought. Slow down.
- DO use angle brackets to indicate quoting from previous e-mails. Quote only the pertinent parts instead of the entire e-mail.
- DO keep private e-mails private. If you want to make a public response to a private e-mail, then create a new e-mail (do not forward the original) and summarize the private e-mail without stating the identity of the original writer. It is unprofessional, inappropriate, and inexcusable to forward a private e-mail without permission. This constitutes a violation of privacy.
- DO allow time for a response. It is easy to forget that people may be out of the office for extended periods of time for a vacation, family crisis, or other situation. Also, many people read their e-mail only once a day, not once an hour.
May all your e-mails have the response you seek!
- DO apologize for violating any of these cyber-manners. If you have inadvertently forwarded private e-mail, sent an e-mail to a listserv instead of an individual, or committed any other cyber-sin, be swift about expressing your regret.
_____Copyright © 1998. R. Dawn Spencer. Used with permission.
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_______________ The Answer Guru
the column where Tennessee Regional Group members take turns answering your questions
Q: How can I get references if I have never had a published index?
A: One of the most popular ways to get references is by volunteering your indexing services to a person or organization. Libraries, clubs, churches, and schools often need a volunteer indexer. They can give you a reference to future clients. This is because they have worked with you.
When clients receive non-published sample indexes in marketing packages, they have no inkling of what you are like to work with. Can you meet a deadline? Are you adaptable to their scheduling? By working with others on a volunteer basis, you will gain a personal business reference in addition to an indexing reference.
_____To send a question to the Answer Guru, send an e-mail to: TennWords@aol.com. Make sure you state that your question is for the Answer Guru! The Tennessee Regional Group members will review questions, and qualified indexers will answer them.
This month's Answer Guru is Susan Wilkerson.
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_______________ Indexing a Periodical using Sky Index, Standard version 4.0
by Michelle Robertson
I chose SKY Index as an inexpensive Windows-based program for my first index. The periodical I indexed was the quarterly On-Line Audiovisual Catalogers (OLAC) Newsletter, volumes 16 and 17. In the process of creating this index I encountered a number of difficulties specific to periodicals that required some experimentation to understand and resolve.
My first discovery was that SKY Index recommends the indexing for each periodical issue be entered in a separate file. The page references in each file are then labeled with the appropriate volume (and issue, in my case) by the program, and finally the files are merged. Tweaking last-minute problems at the end of the process was made a bit time consuming due to the necessity of merging eight different files into one index. However, this approach allowed greater flexibility and kept the following problem to a small inconvenience.
Due to the configuration of SKY Index, I did not have the option of repeating the page numbering format of former OLAC indexes. They had used a comma as a "volume separator" (to separate volume, issue and page), and a semicolon between page references, e.g.:
OLAC membership directory 7,1,1 ; 7,4,6.
I was unable to duplicate this format because SKY Index only allows commas to be used between page references. Commas in both places would be confusing, and a colon is more recognizable as a volume separator (which can be chosen by the indexer in SKY). As a result I chose the following as the final format:
Maps...................16:1:25-26, 16:4:33-34, 17:1:44
A more time-consuming problem I encountered was the difficulty of combining runs of pages within the volume:issue:page structure. When SKY Index combined page runs for me automatically, the pagination from a number of references disappeared completely. Only volume and issue remained. I assume this is because SKY Index is not designed to process more information than volume and page from the page references. I eliminated this problem by going back and editing my index entries to combine page runs.
Page runs have additional complications, not just applicable to periodicals. Those entered as plain text are not treated as a page run for filing purposes; the dash is ignored and the two numbers are treated as a whole number (e.g. 16:1:25-26 is treated as 16:1:2526). This creates a problem if the next entry on the subject has the reference page 16:1:30, which would incorrectly file before page "2526."
In order to force my page runs to sort properly, I used the indexing software code indicating that it should ignore numbers after the dash for filing purposes. This was done on a case-by-case basis, with "find and replace" assistance from the macro software. In general, this approach worked; however, I still had a small number of inexplicable inconsistencies despite proper coding, such as:
OLAC conferences
1996.....16:1:6-7, 16:2:6-18, 16:2:28, 16:2:23-24, 16:4:20-41For all of the issues discussed above I either found a suitable solution to the problems I encountered, or otherwise circumvented the problem without finding it necessary to contact SKY Index software support. A number of the solutions I used would have been much more difficult in a large index. The documentation was very helpful; if it had not been I would certainly have had to call the manufacturer for assistance with some of these problems. Overall, I found SKY Index easy to work with and adaptable to my needs for indexing this periodical.
For more information about SKY Index software, visit their web page.
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_______________ TennReviews
Susan Holbert's Basic Indexing Video Workshop--an Alternative to Consider
by Susan Wilkerson
If you are anxious to become an indexer, but don't have the time or finances to complete a college indexing class or a correspondence course, there is an alternative.
Some people can pick up a book and teach themselves. There are several good indexing books on the market. (See the Resources Page of this web site for a listing.) However, after studying the books of their choice and doing a couple practice indexes, many people miss the feedback that comes from an instructor.
Susan Holbert's Basic Indexing Video Workshop will meet this need.
This is actually a video of one of her indexing workshops with real participating students. You and the students receive the same workshop materials. It is like sitting in on one of her workshops and working along with the students.
Susan goes over indexing techniques, and then gives the students (and you) a copy of a page from a book to index. As the students begin their assignment, you turn off the video and complete the assignment yourself.
When you are finished, you turn the video back on and Susan goes over the completed index with her students. She asks them what entries they selected, and why, then explains her own choices of entries. Next, she asks for questions from the audience. You would be surprised at the number of times someone will ask the very question you had on your mind!
She repeats this assignment process a couple of other times. (At the end of the tape she offers further assistance through e-mail.)
After the indexing assignments, Susan discusses several aspects of marketing, which is very helpful.
Susan's Basic Indexing Video Workshop has been created to give the feeling of being right there. When completed, you will have the same indexing instruction as workshop participants. The only thing missing is the coffee and donuts.
For more information about ordering the video workshop, visit Susan's web page.
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_______________ Cajun Fried Shrimp
contributed by Susan WilkersonNumber of servings depends on your appetite!
2 pounds fresh shrimp (should be gray in color--pink shrimp is old shrimp!)
1/4 cup hot sauce
1/4 cup mustard
1 box Zatarain's Fish-Fri, Lemon Flavor
oil (enough to deep-fry shrimp a few at a time)
saltWash, butterfly, and devein the shrimp.
Mix hot sauce and mustard together in a large bowl. Add shrimp and let marinade at least two hours, preferably overnight.
Heat oil.
Drain and squeeze out excess marinade. Fill a quart-size ZIPLOCK bag half full of Zatarain's Fish-Fri. Drop about ten peices of shrimp into the bag and zip closed, allowing air to stay in the bag. Shake until shrimp is coated. Remove coated shrimp from bag and drop into hot oil. Cook until golden brown; remove from oil. Salt to taste. Repeat with remaining shrimp.
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_______________ makes 12 standard size muffins
1/2 cup rye flour
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1/3 cup melted butter
1/3 cup sorghum
1 egg
1 cup raisins (optional)Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray muffin tins with PAM spray, or butter them to keep muffins from sticking.
Mix dry ingredients. Beat wet ingredients together. Mix dry and wet ingredients together until just moistened. Stir in raisins, if used.
Fill each muffin cup about two-thirds full. Bake about 15 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center of a muffin comes out clean. When done, cool muffins in the tins for a couple of minutes, then remove.
Especially good with the Baked Beans recipe in a prior issue of TennWords.
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_______________ Vegetarian Eggplant Enchiladas
serves 6
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
First prepare the Enchilada Sauce. Then while it is simmering, prepare the rest of the recipe.
Enchilada Sauce:
Saute until golden:
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons olive oilAdd, then simmer over low heat for at least 15 minutes. If sauce becomes too thick, add a bit of water:
1/4 cup Ortega mild, green chilies
4 cups chopped tomatoes, fresh or canned
1/4 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon basil
1/4 teaspoon cuminWhile sauce simmers, prepare the filling in a separate pan.
Enchilada Filling
Saute until golden in a pan:
1 onion, chopped
1 tablespoon oilNext, add and toss to coat:
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium peeled eggplant, cubedCover and cook eggplant mixture over medium heat until eggplant is soft, about 10 minutes. Next add:
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon red pepper (cayenne)
1 cup chopped walnutsCook for 5 more minutes. Remove from heat and add:
1 cup grated Monterey Jack cheeseTo assemble enchiladas (messy, but easy):
Soften 12 corn tortillas by placing them, one at a time, in the hot enchilada sauce for about 30 seconds, just enough to make them soft, but not too soft. Remove from sauce and place on plate. Fill each tortilla with about 1/4 cup of the eggplant mixture and roll tightly, then place in a large baking dish. Repeat with remaining corn tortillas.
When all the tortillas have been filled and placed in baking dish, pour remaining enchilada sauce over the top of the filled, rolled tortillas, and sprinkle the top with:
1/2 cup grated Monterey Jack cheese
Bake for 20 minutes, or until heated through.
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_______________ These are from "The Land" Pavilion at EPCOT Center at Walt Disney World.
Makes 12 to 18 muffins, depending on size
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare muffin tins by spraying with PAM.
Mix until creamed:
2/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup soft butter
1 teaspoon vanillaAdd, one at a time, mixing well after each:
2 eggs
1 1/3 cups milkIn a separate bowl, mix well:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 cup yellow corn mealAdd flour mixture to the milk mixture. Spoon into muffins tins. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until lightly browned.
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Return to the Tennessee Regional Group Home PageTo reach us by mail: TennWords@aol.com
Unless otherwise stated, all material is written by R. Dawn Spencer. Copyright © 1998.