Indexing

“ As already stated on a previous page, it is most important to index the articles in periodicals afresh, and not always to follow the heading of the original. This is of course more particularly the case in respect to newspapers, where the headings [pg 224] are drawn up to catch the reader's eye. The same rule may be insisted on in respect to all indexing, and this is so important that the restatement of it may well conclude this little volume.
In making a general index of several volumes, always index the volumes afresh, and do not be contented with using what has been done before. ”

“ The advantage of this plan is that a précis can be made of the articles or papers which will be useful to the reader as containing an abstract of the contents, much of which might not be of sufficient importance to be sorted out in the alphabet; in the case where the entries are important they can be duplicated in the alphabet. A good specimen of this plan of indexing [pg 159] may be found in the indexes to the Journal of the Statistical Society. ”

“ Indexing is based on tables of contents (which are not always reliable) rather than on a perusal of articles and reviews, the names of authors are not regularized, keyword access is not based on a controlled thesaurus, some records lack full bibliographical information, and coverage of topics is haphazard. Users should remember that recent volumes are not indexed; for example, of the 1,061 journals listed under Literature in Index, fewer than 100 are covered beyond 1995 (with coverage rarely extending beyond 2000) . ”

“ Another good indexing system combines the library index with the "scrap," or clipping, system by making the outside of the envelope serve the same purpose as the card for the indexing of books, magazines, clippings and manuscripts, the latter two classes of material being enclosed in the envelopes that index them, and all filed alphabetically. ”

“ It is nevertheless worth while to mention the [pg 79] index to Peter Cunningham's complete edition of Walpole's Letters, because that work deserves a good index. We may hope that when Mrs. Toynbee publishes her new and complete edition of the Letters, she will add a really satisfactory index. The present index is very bad and most irritating to the person who uses it. Examples of most of the careless and foolish blunders in indexing are to be found here; for instance, there are long lists of references without indication of the reason for any of them. ”

“ All storage cupboards or presses should have glazed doors. This simple precaution has the effect of inducing tidiness on the part of the staff, and the prospect of slovenly arrangement is reduced to a minimum. The next process is to decide upon a method of indexing which will offer the greatest facilities for rapidly finding any given article. In the Library World for July, 1899, Mr Jast describes a graphic method of achieving this end. He provides a series of cards of uniform size, one or more for each article indexed, according to the need for indexing them more than once in the alphabet. ”

“ The cumulative system of indexes, which resulted from the consolidation of the Cumulative index to a selected list of periodicals and the Readers’ guide to periodical literature begins with this volume a series of five year indexes. It is a 1640 page volume indexing sixty-seven magazines. Since an index to periodicals is used primarily to find out what the magazines contain on a particular subject and is less frequently consulted for questions of authorship and title, this index is first of all a subject index. ”

“ The easiest books to index are those coming within the classes of History, Travel, Topography, and generally those that deal almost entirely with facts. The indexing of these is largely a mechanical operation, and only requires care and judgment. Verbal indexes and concordances are fairly easy when the plan is settled; but they are often works of great labour, and the compilers deserve great credit for their perseverance. John Marbeck stands at the head of this body of indefatigable workers who have placed the world under the greatest obligations. ”

“ Each Branch Chief may use any system of index numbering that will help in orderly filing and cross-indexing. Probably the best method is the simple practice of having each man, while assigned to any particular squad, keep his own set of numbers, starting with No. 1 and breaking them up as required and keeping a record of numbers used, together with the subject of the computation. The system used should make it possible to refer readily to another designer's computations by specific page number. ”

“ Despite the dramatic increase in accessibility to the post-1980 listings, a search of the printed subject indexes or online file must sometimes be supplemented by a reading of appropriate sections in the classified volumes. Although the number of index terms has grown steadily each year, many broad studies can be described in only the most general terms, and some publications, lacking a thesis or any discernible focus, cannot be given any descriptors. Subject indexing, at its best, is an imperfect art. ”

“ There can be no doubt, however, that he requires a certain amount of knowledge; and the good cataloguer and indexer, without knowing everything, will be found to possess a keen sense of knowledge.
[pg 117] As I owe all my interest in bibliography and indexing to him, I may perhaps be allowed to introduce the name of my elder brother, the late Mr. B. R. Wheatley, a Vice-President of the Library Association, as that of a good indexer. He devoted his best efforts to the advancement of bibliography. ”

“ Entries are now organized in three parts: (1) a subject index, with headings for persons, historical periods, major fields of philosophy and their branches, and topics; (2) an author index, with descriptive abstracts of several works (beginning with the volume for 1969) ; (3) a book review index (since the volume for 1970; coverage of book reviews in the database begins with vol. 28 [1994] ) . The organization, subject indexing, and design have improved markedly over the years ”

“ In the eighth chapter of How to Catalogue a Library there are a series of rules for making a catalogue of a small library in which are codified the different points which had been discussed in the previous chapters. In the present chapter the Index Society rules are printed in italic, and to them are now added some illustrative remarks. There is necessarily a certain likeness between rules for indexing and rules for cataloguing, but the differences are perhaps more marked. At all events, the rules for one class of work will not always be suitable for the other class.
[pg 134]
1. ”

“ In referring to the fourth edition of his Essays he wrote: "I intend to make an index to it." Two years later he is grateful that the work of indexing another book is to be done for him; writing to Millar (December 18th, 1759) , he says: "I think that an Index will be very proper, and am glad that you free me from the trouble of undertaking that task, for which I know myself to be very unfit." [4]
[4] Letters of David Hume to William Strahan, edited by G. Birkbeck Hill, D.C.L. Oxford, 1888.
Sir James Paget, the great surgeon, not only made indexes, but delighted in the task. He told Dr. ”

“ The difficulty in framing references consists in finding generic expressions capable of including a sufficient number of enactments without being too vague. The index-maker must judge for himself how far he must guide the inquirer to a particular enactment by a special reference, having regard to the necessity of keeping his title within moderate compass, and in some degree to the question whether the subject-matter with which he is dealing is or is not of such general interest as to require a greater or less degree of minuteness in indexing. ”

“ A bibliography of national bibliographies that record current publications within a country. A typical annotation identifies scope, coverage, contents, cataloging rules and classification scheme, content of an entry, arrangement, indexing, predecessors, supplementary works, published guides, currency, print and electronic formats, current deposit laws, and selected scholarship. The extensive commentary under most countries offers a wealth of information about current and, in some cases, retrospective national bibliographies. ”

“ A good index is one which enables the reader or student to locate readily the subject or item which he seeks. It is usually best for an author to make his own index. A professional indexer is inclined to overload an index; the author, with his knowledge of the subject and a little study, will generally produce a better working index.
[pg 7]
Our usual style of index is two columns to the page, set in 8-point type, with not more than two indentions. ”

“ Every work should have one index to the whole set, and not an index to each volume.
An index to each volume of a set is convenient if a general amalgamated index to the whole set is given as well; but a work with several indexes and no general one is most inconvenient and irritating, while to have both seems extravagant. If, however, the author or publisher is willing to present both, it is not for the user of the book to complain.
2. Indexes to be arranged in alphabetical order, proper names and subjects being united in one alphabet. ”

“ I have bought many books, and at their ends I make an index of all the facts that concern my work; or, if the book is not my own, write out a separate abstract, and of such abstracts I have a large drawer full. Before beginning on any subject I look to all the short indexes and make a general and classified index, and by taking the one or more proper portfolios I have all the information collected during my life ready for use. ”

“ The closeness with which a book is to be indexed depends partly upon the nature of its contents and partly upon the ideas of the author or publisher. Some indexes contain only the page references; some are so analytical that a reader can gain an excellent idea of the subject-matter itself. These, however, represent the two extremes. The ordinary index aims to give every reference necessary to enable the reader to locate easily the subject-matter for which he searches, but not a synopsis of that subject-matter. ”

“ This paramount characteristic of the good indexer is by no means an easy one to acquire. When the indexer is absorbed [pg 179] in the work upon which he is working, he takes for granted much with which the consulter coming fresh to the subject is not familiar. The want of this characteristic is most marked in the case of the bad indexer.
In printing references to the entries in an index it is important to make a distinction between the volume and the page; this is done best by printing the number of the volumes in Roman letters and the page in Arabic numerals. ”

“ When a good groundwork has been made, the index could be printed; and doubtless, if this printed index was widely circulated, a large number of helpers would speedily be found. Many persons know of places where full information on some subject may be found, and would be glad to place their collections where they would be helpful to others.
There can surely be no doubt that a general inquiry office with such an ever-growing index and a library of printed indexes would be a boon not only to the student, but to the general public. ”

“ The requirements of an index and the proportions of its several parts are the two principal questions to be considered. Under the first head it may be observed that the index of a company upon a large scale should afford as much abstract information as possible. Those who refer to it do so with different views, for the objects of their inquiry must necessarily vary with their respective duties. It is therefore desirable that the index should be constructed with a view to provide for the wants of each person, so far, at least, as to enable him to obtain information in the most direct way ”

“ To serve its purpose well, an index to a book must be compiled with care, the references being placed under the heading that the reader is most likely to seek. An index should be one and indivisible, and not broken up into several alphabets; thus every work, whether in one or more volumes, ought to have its complete index. ”

“ In the case of a small index there is little difficulty with material, for it can be arranged at once into first letters, and when the table is cleared of the slips these can be placed in the pages of an ordinary book to keep them distinct, and can then be sorted in perfect alphabet and pasted down. In the case of a large index it will be necessary to place the slips in a safer place. ”

“ The careful use of cross references is next in importance to the selection of appropriate headings. Great judgment, however, is required, as the consulters are naturally irritated by being referred backwards and forwards, particularly in a large index. At the same time, if judiciously inserted, such references are a great help. Mr. Poole says, in an article on his own index in the Library Journal: "If every subject shall have cross references to its allies, the work will be mainly a book of cross references rather than an index of subjects." ”

“ Having said so much, it seems necessary [pg 217] to explain rather more fully what the general index should contain and what should be omitted. To explain it in a few words, it should be a sort of encyclopædia of references rather than of direct information; but it should contain more headings than any existing encyclopædia. Every one must have felt the want of some book which would give information or references on a large number of subjects that are constantly topics of ordinary conversation, but are consistently ignored in the ordinary books of reference. ”