To sum it up succinctly, this book is very useful because it is very practical. As its subtitle implies, this is a how‐to book with lots of practical tips, advice, step‐by‐step techniques and examples. Published in association with the American Society of Indexers (ASI), each of the 12 chapters is written by an expert indexer with this in mind: “provide the ‘nuts and bolts’ of how they have created non‐traditional electronic indexes”. They have succeeded admirably, and have given us a working treatise that can have appeal to a wide variety of readers.
In this quick‐reading paperback, novice indexers are treated to a spectrum of indexing applications from traditional print indexing to CD‐ROM and Web format. The experienced authors provide numerous practical examples. But interestingly, the book is not only for indexing aficionados. Because it covers concepts while going through the sample approaches, the book provides an introduction that might be useful to library school students or anyone who wants a quick overview of the contemporary world of indexing. As noted, its strength is in providing concrete applications for a variety of topics: embedded indexing in books and documents; subject oriented indexing; using meta‐tags for indexing and when designing Web pages; indexing unusual applications, such as online help files. The practical knowledge culled from these readings would be useful for anyone who wants to expand her or his understanding of indexing and the variety of contexts in which it is used throughout our information technology‐rich world. In fact, those of us long from our library school days might appreciate the work as a tutorial on indexing applications.
It is divided into four sections, dealing first with embedded and Web indexing, then special topics and marketing. The last topic is directed at information professionals but, because the authors maintain that “nuts and bolts” commitment, it has some interesting advice in a number of settings (for instance, putting examples of your handiwork on the Web so that others can see it – this is not just self‐advertisement, it can serve as an icebreaker for any cold contact). The special topics section is like a three‐course meal: it piles on heaps of hearty examples to munch on and digest. These are three extended project‐based examples, actual cases reviewing indexing considerations for Web pages, a CD‐ROM encyclopaedia, and online help.
The first two sections get to the strength and utility of this book: what is indexing, how does it work, and where should you use it? The first section is a little slow if you are not all that interested in conventional print indexing, but it serves as a springboard for the next section, the heart of the matter, titled Beyond the Book: Web Indexing. Because so much of the information world is digitised and increasingly delivered through the Web environment, these four chapters are right on target and in keeping with current trends and practices. In this section readers will learn why Web pages should be indexed, and the best ways to do so. Here it is explained why index entries must have relationships and how to communicate them in a hypertext environment. The reader gains insight into how search engines and their spiders view Web pages and how meta‐tags become critical instruments for indexing. Marilyn Rowland’s simple but detailed explanations of various aspects of indexing in a Web setting (she wrote three of the articles herself) are easy reading, yet provide background understanding along with precise samples.
Though started as a project by the ASI, the book is not particularly US‐centric (one author is an Australian indexer). The concepts are definitely international, the examples for the most part transcend regionalism, and the advice is general while useful. As professional indexers, most of the authors’ experiences are commercially relevant, rather than drawn from academic or special settings – this adds to rather than detracts from the breadth of their examples. Oh yes, and the index for the book is excellent!
