indexing for good | indexing faq

Purpose of an Index

"An index serves only one purpose:
it enables readers to locate information efficiently."

~ Nancy C. Mulvany, Indexing Books

It can’t get any simpler than that.

Yet an index itself is not simple at all. It is a finely perceived and constructed web of interrelationships and connections built upon the concepts and ideas of your text, brought to the surface and made visible.

A good index displays, through well-chosen and well-worded headings, as well as select yet comprehensive gathering techniques, the important concepts and topics threaded throughout your text.

Good indexes are constructed through analysis in such a way that your readers can find not only the topics covered in your work, but the connections between them – not only the stated concepts, but often the related unstated ones, as well.

Your audience, present and future, is at the forefront of the professional indexer’s mind when creating the “interface” between you and your readers. A good index helps your knowledge reveal itself to your readers.

And if we are talking about manuals and technical publications – from sustainable construction to rooftop gardening, “how-to” manuals of all kinds including cookbooks and more – a well-crafted index helps users find what they need quickly so they can get the job done!

“A reference or teaching book is only as good as its index.”

~ Julia Child

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Does a Publication Have to Have an Index?

Technically, no, it doesn’t, though there are a lot of things both practical and subtle that can make the case for a professionally created index to be part of your material.

Readers/Customers Expect Indexes: Indexes are, without question, expected by readers of non-fiction books. Not having one can mean the difference between your book being placed back on the shelf, or taken with your prospective reader over to the cashier’s aisle.

Librarians Choose Books with Good Indexes: The influence of a good index doesn’t end at just an in-store customer thinking about buying your book. Imagine the setting is the acquisitions department of a city, state, or university library, and it is the acquisitions librarian holding your book. A well-crafted, user-friendly index is a strong selling point to information professionals, who can influence many others through their purchasing decisions.

Unknown Organizational Loss: For organizations, how many funding dollars, operational efficiencies, or opportunities for positive exposure may be lost with annual reports, histories, manuals, conference proceedings, and other regular or occasional publications that lack information “findability”? How easy is it to put your finger on salient facts, terms, stories, or timelines in your publications? A table of contents is usually laid out linearly, and in broad strokes. A good index leads readers to the more finely-grained details and often from many angles.

For Readers Today & Tomorrow: Do you want the information in your book to continue to instruct, inform, or inspire over time? A quality index can increase the chances of your book being perceived as an information resource for reader recommendations, in online discussions, websites, special interest groups, and for future research. These things help keep your work quoted, referenced, and alive!

“Every serious book of nonfiction should have an index
if it is to achieve its maximum usefulness.”

~ Chicago Manual of Style, 14th Edition

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Can’t Authors Do It Themselves or Have Someone In-House Do It?

Sure . . . that’s possible . . . but it takes training and experience to do it effectively. You may have already started thinking about your next book or project, or are ready for a post-project vacation, or moving on to other things that you or your organization are involved in.

A professional indexer has an inclination for this specialized work, the technical training to be able to do it, and a fresh set of eyes for what others may need to know when looking at your material. As an integral part of their work, indexers consider the range of your possible readers – those who haven’t read your book but are considering it, those who may only skim it for specific information, and those who have read it and need to re-locate a specific topic.

A professional indexer is also attuned to nuances of language, and “findability” when constructing your index. Some phrases and constructions are better than others when people are searching for information.

For these and many other reasons you may not want to “do it yourself!"

“Never index your own book.”

~ Kurt Vonnegut, Cat’s Cradle

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Can’t a Computer Make an Index?

Actually, no . . . What computers usually compile is more like a word list called a “concordance.” A computer “index” or search function can’t do the more complex cognitive activities that a human indexer can do, though for sheer indiscriminate volume of information, the computer can hardly be surpassed.

How many times, though, have you been surprised at the errors of selection that your “search” function includes? The good news is that the human brain is still in the lead for natural (human) language processing!

Consider the following:

A computer cannot determine if a word actually has an appropriate “context” associated with it , or if the word is only given as an example, as part of a list, or as some other passing or inconsequential mention.

For example, if an information seeker were to do an online search of a particular document for the topic of “pesticides,” these non-substantive results could appear:

“Unlike with the use of pesticides, nontoxic techniques used in the management of crops . . . ”

“While pesticides may remain part of the landscape for the time being, the ongoing commitment to sustainable land management practices . . . ”

A human indexer is able to discern context and substance, and so can deliver more accurate information-gathering results.

Similarly, because computers cannot differentiate contexts, they cannot distinguish between homonyms – words spelled the same but with different meanings.

Words take their meaning from context. Think about the words “negotiating,” “relish,” “leading” and “looms” in the following passage.

“Leaving home, making one’s way in the world, negotiating adult disappointment, accepting with relish the small successes, leading a quiet and competent life – these are almost enough. Without inspiration, or some creative catalyst for forward movement however, that ‘almost’ looms large.”

You may notice that even the simple word “leading” is one that can have significant differences in meaning depending on context—all invisible to a basic computer search:

leading – term from the print trade

leading – term from stained glass manufacture

leading – term related to position in a sequence, or status

leading – term related to individual behavior in organizational or group activity

A computer cannot create headings for topics that are only implied but not stated.

The larger topic being discussed in the passage above could be “life purpose,” but since there is nothing obvious in the text for a computer to pick up about this subject, it would remain unidentified.

A computer cannot create different headings modified for the various information-seeking needs of readers. An indexer can do this – using skill, creativity, and good judgment.

Knowing that people go about information-seeking in different ways, a human indexer knows to create alternative avenues of access into a topic. Here, “life purpose” references could also be located by index entries such as “goals,” “growth,” or even “fulfillment.”

Indexing FAQ