American Society for Indexing (ASI) Treasures
The American Society for Indexing (ASI) website is a treasure trove for those needing information about indexes, indexers, and indexing.
If you need to find an indexer, the ASI Indexer Locator provides criteria fields for searching their database of indexers to find a match for your specific needs. Keep in mind that indexers pay annually to be included in the database, so the database does not include every ASI member. Check out my listing in the Indexer Locator.
For information about indexing, ASI has a Frequently Asked Questions collection and a page of Advice for Editors & Authors.
How do you know if the index you paid for is any good? ASI has an Index Evaluation checklist to give you an idea of what to look for in an index. Also, check out the criteria of an award-winning index: Every year an ASI committee evaluates published indexes. If any submitted index proves outstanding enough in both content and presentation, it earns the ASI/EIS Publishing Award, presented to both the indexer and the publisher. Some years no submitted index is worthy and the award is withheld.
The ASI website has a collection of journals and articles on indexes and indexing. The Society also publishes a line of books on indexes and indexing on topics ranging from running an indexing business to the proper indexing of specialty texts.
For training in indexing, the ASI website offers a page collecting indexing courses and workshops, including the ASI Training in Indexing Course and the ASI Business of Indexing module. ASI offers webinars for online learning at your convenience.
Throughout the US, local ASI chapters provide easy entry points to the indexing community. Each year, ASI hosts a national conference offering training sessions and wonderful opportunities to gather with other indexers.
I’ve scratched the surface of all the ASI website has to offer. It’s a great first step.