Indexing 101 with Elizabeth Bartmess and Michele Combs MONDAY! October 20 at noon (PT) on Zoom REGISTER Nobody can deny that indexes bring essential value to nonfiction works. An index is a book’s detailed “roadmap,” allowing the reader to locate specific information and transforming the book from a linear narrative into a functional, searchable reference whose content can be quickly retrieved and deeply explored. Achieving this goal requires the skill of a professional indexer. Rather than just plucking terms from a document, an indexer reads the entire book, analyzes and extracts substantive terms and concepts, chooses appropriate phrasing, and adds cross-references to help the reader effectively navigate the index. Indexing is both a craft that uses specific tools and an intuitive art that involves understanding, conceptualizing, and organizing access to a book in a way that’s true to the nature of the book. It anticipates where readers will look for information. Whether you’re an experienced publishing professional or an author hiring your first indexer, our presenters will cover the essentials: How to find and assess an indexer How to get the most out of your working relationship How (and whether) to edit an index Why AI isn’t up to the job Elizabeth Bartmess is the chair of the American Society for Indexing’s AI committee. She’s an award-winning freelance indexer specializing in back-of-book and embedded indexes for scholarly, trade, and technology and design books. She also develops software utilities for indexers. Her academic background is in research psychology and information science. Michele Combs is a freelance indexer and editor with more than 20 years’ experience. She also works full-time as the lead archivist at Syracuse University’s Special Collections Research Center. She is a past president of the American Society for Indexing, coauthor of the International Digital Publishing Forum’s EPUB Indexes 1.0 standard (2015), and a member of ASI’s AI committee. Her academic background is in history and political science, with an MS in Library and Information Science. REGISTER About Publishing Professionals Network Publishing Professionals Network is an all-volunteer nonprofit association that promotes excellence in book making through education, career development, and community building. Founded as Bookbuilders West in 1969, the organization was rechartered as PPN in 2012 to reflect the changing nature of book publishing and to embrace all of the partnerships that exist within our industry. PPN fosters publishing excellence and public recognition through its annual book show and encourages education and development through its annual conference and other professional development programs.