AustralianSociety ofIndexers

NEWSLETTERGPO Box 1251, Melbourne, Vic. 3001

Tel. (03) 9571 6341Email mindexer@interconnect.com.auWWW http./zwww.zeta.org.au/e-aussiWebmaster Email aussits'zeta.org.au

Volume 20, Number 2,March 1996

ISSN 0314·3767

EditorialIn this issue John Simkin contributes anarticle for discussion on a Code of Practicefor Indexers. As an interesting comparison,the latest Code of Conduct for Indexersfrom the Society of Indexers' newsletter,The Indexer, is also included. The Marchissue features 'Indexing in the ElectronicAge' Conference details and registrationbrochure, Dwight Walker's Web PrizeCompetition Part 3, Garry Cousin's CindexTip on finding patterns, and a Letter to theEdito~ from Robert Hyslop in praise of thecompiled conference proceedings, whichwere edited by Max McMaster. The ACTBranch advise members of their AGM andDinner.

Ann Philpott, Editor

INDEXING IN THEELECTRONIC AGEA Conference for theInformation Industry20·21 April 1996

The ACT Branch of the Australian Societyof Indexers in conjunction with the NSWBranch of the Society is organising thisconference which is directed to all people in

!he informa~on industry whether they areindexers, editors, publishers or users.

The. co"!"ere~ce will proyide insights intothe implications for the Informationindustry of indexing in the electronicage.The speakers will be a range ofspecialists able to provide diverseperspectives. Interesting debates areanticipated.

A highlight of the conference will be theConference Dinner, being arranged by theNSW Branch, when full details of thejudging and the names of the highlycommended indexers and others whoseindexes were on the short list for the AusSIMedal will be announced.

The venue for the conference is RanelaghHouse, a charming guest house dating fromthe 1920s and located in the small town ofRobertson in the picturesque NSWSouthern Tablelands, now famous as thelocation of the movie Babe.

Full details of the conference are availablein the brochure included with thisnewsletter. Further information is availablefrom Shirley CampbeU:Phone (06) 234 2225 Fax (06) 234 2237EmailShirley .Campbell@Radford.act.edu.auIf you need a lift to Robertson fromSydney, please phone Lorraine Doyle on(02) 8764218 or fax (02) 888 2229.

VICTORIANSHelp Needed for mailout

of Indexers Available1995/96

If ~ou are willing to help me with themallout of Indexers Available 1995/96 topublishers and members on any of the daysover Easter (5 - 8 April), please call AnnPhilpott on 98300494.

VENUE: (Front unit) 116Scheele StreetSurrey Hills Vic. 3127

Alternatively, if you would like to helpeither on another day shortly after Easteror from the comfort of your own lounge,please call me and I can despatch a batch toyou with addresses.

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Code of Practice forIndexersAt the International Conference inMarysville there was a general discussionsession on the ethics of indexing where aresolution was passed to formulate a codeof practice for Australian indexers. Thefollowing notes are intended to open thesubject for discussion by members ofAusSI.

Any profession needs a statement of itsgoals on which to build its body oftheoretical and practical knowledge as wellas the rules which may be applied to thepractice of the profession under particularconditions.

Until the profession can demonstrate theseclearly it will not be able to present itselfeffectively for acceptance by the widercommunity with substantial courses ofstudy and acceptance of its practitioners.

'Indexing' is not a precise term as used byprofessional indexers. It includes traditional'back-of-book' indexes, databases,indexing of non-print materials and, tosome, such activities as library cataloguingand subject bibliography. Thus a codeshould define the area which is covered bythis loose term and its relar' onship to otherareas of activity.

The useful definition of 'indexing' for thepurpose of creating a code will be onewhich views it as the analysis ofknowledge with the allocation of verbal orother descriptions to make it accessible asquickly and precisely as possible. With thisdefinition in mind it can be accepted thatthose indexers who develop more effectivemethods for this work and those who makeit their business to know about suchdevelopments are being more 'ethical' thanthose who use methods which do the jobless effectively. This is not just a matter ofbeing up to the minute with the latestequipment or system because oldermethods may be more effective in somecases. The well-equipped indexer will beable to judge such questions.

Like any profession indexing has a broadethical base. The statement of this basemust precede any codification of rules; theywill only be valid to the extent that, at anytime, they assist the achievement of the

goal(s) set by the broad statement Hereinlies the distinction between ethics - thoseprinciples which describe the unchanginggoals of the enterprise or field of endeavour- and morals - those dos and don'ts whichrelate to particular time and circumstancesand which need to be reviewed and revisedas circumstances change.

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The statement of the ethical base ofindexing will assume it to be part of thearea which includes the recording,preservation and retrieval of knowledge. (Itis important to relate it to knowledge ratherthan to the more limited field ofinformation, i.e. packaged knowledge.Information is governed to some extent byfashion and information is defined by thatwhich is objective, almost entirelyneglecting the larger field of subjectiveknowledge. Of course, information iseasier to index; its concepts are moresusceptible to being codified in preciseterms and, being driven to some extent byfashion, its thesauri can be limited to thatwhich is 'needed' by the user group or thedemands of the time. On the other hand,knowledge is a vast field, itsinterrelationships are extremely complex, inits recorded forms its resources areimmense and the range of concepts whichneed to be identified in 'indexing' it isalmost infinite.)

The awareness of the size and significanceof what we are involved in is a necessarybackground to the effective practice of ourprofession. We share this with others in the'knowledge' professions - teachers,journalists, publishers, librarians,information technologists and others.

A statement of principle based on the abovewould be to the effect that the principalresponsibility of indexers is to use theirskills to make knowledge as widely andreadily accessible as possible. Of course inthe practice of their profession indexers willfrequently be required to do jobs ofinformation indexing. This work needs tobe carried out with regard to the broaderprinciple. A simple example of the validityof this approach is provided by the situationin some libraries where reference librariansare put to indexing tasks to produce in-house tools with no consideration of theiruse in the wider world. On a pragmaticbasis it may not be possible at first toproduce a product which enhances accessto a field of knowledge for all users but, the

Val. 20 No. 2, March 19962

.- ~ 'ethical' indexer will try to structure thework so as to invite future expansion and tomake such future development as easy andeffective as possible or, at least to providefor the product to take its place in some co-operative venture.

The individual clauses in a code can beworked out by reference to the above pointsand a consideration of the conditions whichpractising indexers experience at the presenttime. Since indexers work in a variety ofsituations it cannot be assumed that rulescan be made with universal application andsome of the clauses may need to specify thesituations to which they apply, e.g. it maybe useful to put in clauses which apply tofreelance workers which could not apply toan indexer employed in a publishing houseor library.

***The following essay in forming a code isoffered as a basis for discussion:

1. Definition

* An indexer's field of activity is theanalysis of recorded knowledge and theassignment of descriptors used in theidentification and retrieval of knowledge onsubjects and in forms as it is needed. The'end product' of an indexer's work is anindex - self-contained and complete or'open-ended' and on-going.

2. Characteristics of the indexer

* The indexer will have an understandingof Knowledge as it is and can be created,investigated, learned, recorded,manipulated, transmitted and used. Theindexer will have an understanding of thebranches of Knowledge and theirrelationships,

* The indexer will have the ability to viewall expressions of knowledge and opinionobjectively without interposing personalopinions or prejudices.

* The indexer will resist all actionsdesigned to censor, distort or falsifyknowledge or to confuse knowingly,objective and subjective realities.

* The indexer will undertake those studiesboth formal and personal which provide anunderstanding of the general principles and

specific techniques of indexing; this will bean ongoing process.

* The indexer who wishes to practise inparticular subject fields will acquireknowledge of, and keep up-to-date in thosefields.

* The indexer will support the professionalassociations which are dedicated toensuring high professional standards.

* The indexer will recognise the value ofwork in this profession and will be diligentin ensuring that it is suitably recognised andrewarded. Where competitive tendering forwork is involved the indexer will competeon the basis of skills, effective techniques,ability to meet deadlines and other criteriawhich do pot degrade the value of theprofessional work involved.

* The indexer wi I conscientiously cout all contractual obligations entered i toas a salaried empl yee or freelancer.

* The indexer wi I create and maintai aprofessional rap rt with his clients 0employers to the nd that all contracts eentered into and filled on the basis fclearly understoo requirements.

* The indexer wi I acquaint him/hers Ifwith the require ents of contract, cop rightand other law aff cting the profession

* The indexer wi I accept the right anresponsibility to ork for the improveof professional c nditions, includingremuneration, w rking conditions anbenefits, legal pr visions affecting thprofession, study opportunities andopportunities for rofessional associa .on.

***The above is pre nted in the hope th~tmembers will fee moved to comment Icriticize, argue, iscuss or even appr~e. Itwill be placed on the agenda of a Nati nalCommittee meeti g. The Committee aywish to adopt so e more formal mea I s ofpursuing the subject.

Since writing the above, a code passe andapproved by the ociety of Indexers( .K.)has come to han . It appears that theSociety of Index rs has adopted asomewhat differ t approach to thatI have suggested bove. The Society

Vol. 20 No. 2, March 1996

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also adopt a code of practice for publishersin their dealings with indexers. This has yet-to be discussed.

John E. Simkin

Code of Conduct forIndexers8th draft amendments followingdiscussion at the AGMfrom the Society oflndexers Newsletter.Third quarter 1995

An Indexer should:

1. Support the aims and the objectives ofthe Society of Indexers in order to ensurecontinuing high standards of indexing.

2. Achieve and maintain competence inprofessional indexing practice.

3. Keep up to date with the developmentof knowledge in his/her chosen subject.

4. Compile an index to a text on aspecialist subject with adequate knowledgeof the specialism and competence to dealwith the intellectual level of the text underconsideration.

5. Be objective and avoid all bias andprejudice. Choice and tone of entriesshould reflect the text.

6. Discuss requirements with the client,establish harmonious relations, and followthe agreed specification, explaining detailsof indexing with which the client may notbe familiar.

7 . Handle in a polite and equable mannerproblems, queries and complaints whichmay arise during the compilation of anindex.

8. Adhere to the agreed date for thedelivery of a commissioned index; informthe client immediately of any problemswhich may affect prompt delivery.

9. Be aware that she/he is entitled to assertmoral and/or economic rights in accordancewith the Copyright Act 1988

10. Negotiate a fair and appropriate fee fora commissioned index, and decline an

unrealistic fee unless there are extenuatingcircumstances.

Next Newsletter deadline:Tuesday 19 March 1996Contributions and letters to theEditor are always welcomeFloppy disks will be appreciated wherearticles are longer than one A4 page. Mycomputer only accepts formatted 3.5"Macintosh Microsoft Word Version 4.00Ddisks. I do not have easy access to fax oremail. Please send all contributions to:The EditorAnn Philpott1/6 Scheele StreetSurrey Hills. Vic. 3127

ACT Branch AnnualGeneral Meeting andDinnerThe ACT Annual General Meeting andDinner will be held at 7.00pm on 26 March1996 at the Italian Club, 78 Franklin Street,Forrest.

The guest speaker will be Susan Prentice ofthe Australian National University and hertalk will be a forerunner to the conference,'Indexing in the Electronic Age'. Theconference is to be held at Robertson NSWon 20-21 April 1996. Contact ShirleyCampbell:Ph (06) 234 2225 fax (06) 2342237 EmailShirley .Camp bell @Radford.act.edu.au

Web Indexing PrizePart 3

Building a bibliographyThis is the final instalment of creating aWeb index.

Sifting and Searching toConstruct the Index

In this stage, we are building an index ofURLs from around the world. Create ahierarchical bibliography. Pick a subjectarea to index, e.g. music. See what alreadyexists. Have a look in our 'indexing theinternet' page to sample possible subjectareas.

Vol. 20 No. 2, March 19964

Established Virtual Librariesas Examples

W3 organisation has a virtual libraryincluding a whole area on astronomy. Thiscross links to all the Australian CSIROastronomy sites out here, although itresides in Switzerland. Instead ofduplicating, create links to an existinghierarchy in your index. In most of theselarge indexes, the first thing you will noticeis that the subject headings are very broad -astronomy, education, music, engineering,science.

Using People's Home Pages asSources of Index Entries

Being a librarian, I often find material onthe internet which is heavily biased towardsacademics in a postgraduate vein. Thisneeds to be filtered out. Rarely will youfind a narrower term. The only times youwill find really 'in depth' data is on thehome page of someone doing their thesis.We are moving into untapped territory here.You could create a niche.

When talking about possible classificationschemes of the internet, Mike Middletonfrom QUT at the Marysville InternationalConference mentioned that user's homepages were a simple index. People havechosen links to pages relevant to theirinterests. I have visited some home pagesfound via Webcrawler and they go on forpages. They can include pages of people'sbuddies, Microsoft, Intel and the USFederal Government.

The Paper Chase: Building aBibliography of Organisations

Using meta-indexes I traced severalorganisations' Web pages including OeLC,BIOSIS and Defence Information. Thisformed a mini bibliography oforganisations relevant to indexing andabstracting organisations. A meta-index isan index of indexes, a master list. To findthese meta-indexes you use the paper chasementality such as that which is used whenresearching a paper or finding a book for aclient in a public library. Using bibliogra-phies from seminal papers you can fabricatean entire area within a few hours.

INDEX

Don't-be left in the dark,join other enlightened MACREX users

to become

Ma~erArli~anstreaun~ RelinenO:tellent~For details how,

contact Yl!UT Australian, New Zealand andSouth-East Asian agent

Max McMasterMaster Indexing

Phone/fax +61 (0)395116341Email: mindexer@interconnect.com.au

DATA CONVERSIONfor CINDEX and MACREX

(liil] (liil] (liil] users (liil] 5iJ (liil]

If you use CINDEX or MACREX for yourindexing, and need to revise a previous indexthat exists only as a text file in a word-processing format like Word or WordPerfect,you can now have that text file convertedinto records which can be imported directlyinto CINDEX or MACREX.

Or if you are cumulating indexes, you canhave your old indexes in word-processingformats converted into DAT files (forClNDEX) or MBK files (for MACREX), andthen merge them easily in CINDEX orMACREX.

Most popular word processing formats can beconverted: WordPerfect, MS Word, RTFfiles, WordS tar, and plain ASCII files. Ratesare $35 per hour and a quotation is providedbefore conversion. For more details contact:

Garry Cousins2/27 What more Street, Waverton NSW 2060

Telephone/fax (02) 9955 1525

Vol. 20 No. 2, March 1996

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The search engine I used fO~this was notWebcrawler as it contains too muchsporadic information. Instead I used theTelstra 'server' search enginp. This onlycarries site names, e.g. Australian Bureauof Statistics, not sites with just Bureau intheir name like Webcrawler and otherWAIS search engines!

Conclusion

So from these searches and browsingsessions, you will find some valuableleads. You start to create a bibliography ofURLs which are relevant to your topic. It isan information base. As a tip, in orderto keep track of the sites you want toremember, use Netscape's rudimentarybookmark facility.

It may be even worth your while getting apiece of paper and start mapping thehypertext world of the Web. Later whenyou start creating these kind ofbibliographies for clients, you can tailorand improve them with feedback from yourusers. Specialised indexes can be createdby dropping or demoting useless links.Added cross-references can be made usingyour new skills with HfML Writer.

You have started to produce a growingindex to create a pathway tlirough theinternet's information soup! There hasdefinitely been an information explosionthis century.

So, decide on an interesting topic to hunt,start using your existing indexing softwareto build an index, use WEBIX to create aWeb page from your index, use an HfMLeditor to touch it up - a relatively fast lowcost link to the internet (or switch thegraphics off on your browser) to hone yourWeb surfing - and voila! A Web indexemerges!

Best of luck!

Surfs up!

Dwight Walker

CINDEX Tip N° 10Getting started with patterns

Finding simple text: a command like

FIND/PATTERN Austral

will find records which contain thesequence of letters "Austral". So Australia,Australasia, Australian, Australians, etc. butnot austral IS, or australopithecus, becausesearches for patterns are always casesensitive.

Using 1: a question mark stands for anycharacter. The command

FIND/PATTERN r?b

will find rab, reb, rib, rob, rub, grab, rebuild,dribble, problem, grub, etc.

Using ( ): if you enclose a set ofcharacters within square brackets CINDEXwill find a match to anyone of thecharacters in the brackets. For example:

FIND/PATTERN 198[345]

will find records which contains any of thesequences 1983, 1984, or 1985. Ranges ofcontiguous characters can be indicated withhyphens. For example, the commandFIND/PATTERN [A-Z] will find every uppercase letter, and FIND/PA TTERN 198[1·3]will find 1981, 1982 and '983.

So, for example, to check that the text ofyour see also references always begins witha capital letter you could give this commandwhich will find any that do not:

FIND/PATTERN see also [a-zl

If you have a tip lor other CINDEXusers, or aproblem, write to the Newsletter or contact

Garry Cousins Phone/lax (02) 9955 1525

Vol. 20 No. 2, March 1996

6

Letter to the Editor'-'

Dear Editor,

1995 AusSI ConferenceProceedings

I was disappointed that I was unable toattend the conference at Marysville inMarch-April last year, so it has been aspecial joy to receive the report of itsproceedings.

I write to compliment the editor MaxMcMaster and all concerned in theproduction of the report. It is an excellentwork.

I am especially glad to note that theproceedings are indexed - a regrettablyrare thing in conference reports. I sooncame to appreciate that it is a good index.

In the absence of an Australian journal ofindexing or a home-grown text-book ofindexing, the proceedings make a bravestart in documenting Australian thinkingabout some of the issues in indexing, andespecially those of high current interest.

This fine volume warrants widedistribution, and not only to conferenceparticipants.

Robert Hyslop ISO24 January 1996

'Indexers - Partners inPublishing' ConferencePapers* 248 pages

* members' price:Victoria $29.50 ($22.50 plus postageand handling $7.00)Outside Victoria $31.50 ($22.50 pluspostage and handling $9.00)

* non-members' price:Victoria $42.00 ($35.00 plus postageand handling $7.00)Outside Victoria $44.00 (($35.00 pluspostage and handling $9.00)

* Make cheque payable to:Australian Society of Indexers

* Mail to:Conference Proceedings,Australian Society of Indexers,GPO Box 1251,Melbourne Vic. 3001

Indexers Available1995-96The new edition of Indexers Available willshortly be available, and copies will bedistributed free to publishing housesthroughout Australia who provide work forindexers.

The cost to others is $15 per copy. PI asemake cheques payable to:Australian Society of Indexersand post to:Indexers Available,Australian Society of Indexers,GPO Box 1251,Melbourne, VIC 3001

New and RejoinedMembersThe Society welcomes the followingmembers:

Ms J. Banfield, Chidlow, WAMrs A. Burke, Malvern, Vic.Ms J. Carrington, Williamstown, ic.Ms K. Collins, Wellington, NZ IMr I. Dorum, Hawthorn, Vic.Ms B. Edwards, Chamwood, A<CTMs C. Ellson, Burwood, Vic.Ms M. Gardner, Ensay, Vic.Mrs J. Jagger, Cannington, WAMrs H. C. Khoo, Dubbo, NSWMs K. Lyons-Dawson, Wollongong,NSWMs K. Napier, Lower Hutt, NZMs H. Nowicka, Geelong, Vic.Ms A. Peut, Ainslie, ACTMs M. Pitt, Helensburg, NSWMr D. Ramsay, Armadale, WAMr S. Watt, East Geelong, Vic.Ms P. Whitten, Watson, ACTMrs Gek Wong, Ormond, Vic.Ms T. Wooldridge, Queanbeyan, NSW

and the following rejoined members:

Mrs S. Ridley, Geary's Gap, NSWMr R. Hawcroft, Ashmore, Qld

Vol. 20 No. 2, March 1996

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AUSTRALIANSOCIETY OFINDEXERSNATIONAL ANDVICTORIAN BRANCHGPO Box 1251Melbourne Vic. 3001Phone: (03) 95716341Email: mindexer@interconnect.com.auWorld Wide Web URL:http://www.zeta.org.au/ .•.aussiWebmaster Email:aussi@zeta.org.au

President:George Levick (03) 95344843Vice Pres:Mary Long (03) 92869125Secretary:lan Odgers (03) 9398 4988Email: igo@interconnect.com.auTreasurer:Joyce Gillespie (03) 9654 8527 orPhone/Fax: (03) 9710 1270Editor:Ann Philpott (03) 9830 0494116Scheele StreetSurrey Hills Vic. 3127Committee Members:Max McMasterJohn SimkinJosephine McGovemMichael RamsdenSandra Whitboum

NSW BRANCHPO Box R598Royal ExchangeSydney NSW 2000Email: dwalker@zeta.org.au

President:Michael Wyatt (02) 281 0460Fax: (02) 281 4498Email: keyword@ozemail.com.auSecretary:Garry CousinsPhone/Fax: (02) 9955 1525Treasurer:Kingsley Siebel (02) 4773149

Committee Members:Lorraine DoyleNeale TowartMaryTurnerAlan WalkerDwight Walker

ACT REGIONBRANCHGPO Box 2069Canberra ACf 2601

President:Geraldine Triffitt (06) 246 1177Fax: (06) 249 7310Email: grt@aiatsis.gov.auSecretary:Shirley CampbeU (06) 234 2225 Fax:(06) 2342237Email:Shirley .Campbell@Radford.act.edu.auTreasurer:Laurelle Tunks (06) 234 1139rodtunks@netinfo.com.auCommittee Members:Robert HyslopLynn Farkas

Advertising rates

AusSI NewsletterFull page: $80Half page: $40Quarter page: $20

AusSI Indexers Available1995196Full page: $100

The Indexer (UK)Full page: 120 pounds sterlingHalf page: 80 pounds sterlingQuarter page: 55 pounds sterlingEighth page: 35 pounds sterlingThere is a special order form to becompleted when lodging advertisements inThe Indexer. For order form and copydeadlines, please contact: Janet Shuter,Hon. Editor, The Old Chapel, Kings Rd,Bembridge, Isle of Wight, UK. P035 5NBemail: Shuter@cix.compulink.co.uk

Vol. 20 No. 2, March 1996

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