Date: Tue, 23 Feb 1993 09:07:22 ECT Reply-To: Indexer's Discussion Group Sender: Indexer's Discussion Group From: Indexing Services Subject: Indiana chapter meeting, American Society of Indexers Indiana Chapter of the American Society of Indexers Meeting Saturday, April 10, 1993 at 2:00 p.m. Meeting Room Pike Library Branch of Indianapolis-Marion County Public Library 6525 Zionsville Road Indianapolis, Indiana Directions: from north or south I-465 take 71st Street exit, go east approximate ly 1 mile to Zionsville Road, turn right or south, the library is about .5 mile on the left or east side of Zionsville Road. Call me if you need more directions . Mary Neumann and Barbara Cohen will speak on customer relations. We will also ha ve a short business meeting to discuss future meetings and programs, results of the survey, etc. I hope to see you there. RSVP: Joan Griffitts 3909 W. 71st Street Indianapolis, Indiana 46268 317/297-7312 e-mail: indexsvc@ivax.iupui.edu If you cannot attend this meeting but are interested in future meetings, let me know and I will keep you on the mailing list. ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 25 Feb 1993 13:38:44 ECT Reply-To: Indexer's Discussion Group Sender: Indexer's Discussion Group From: "Nancy C. Mulvany" Subject: I "cc:'d" the List ! ----------------------------Original message---------------------------- During the last several weeks I've been coerced into yet another letter writing campaign. You see, I feel I put in my time over the years writing to publishers about bad indexes or articles that do not treat indexing in a professional manner. My arms have been twisted, I've written to STC about a silly treatment of indexing and a negative treatment of indexers in the Jan. 1993 issue of INTERCOM ("Indexing from the Desktop--One Writer's Method"); I wrote to The New Yorker about the incredibly strange thing they published and called an index (Feb. 22, 1993 issue, "1992 Index"); and then there was the letter I've been meaning to write since last December to ACM. Of the lot, the ACM Communications' "index" is the most bothersome to me. So, I thought I would share my letter to ACM with all of you. Of course, feel free to write your own letters! If you can manage it, do take a look at The New Yorker "index" ... February 22, 1993 Diane Crawford Executive Editor, Communications of the ACM 1515 Broadway New York, NY 10036 Dear Ms. Crawford, The December 1992 issue of Communications was devoted to the theme of information filtering. In my mind, it is no small irony that in the same issue five pages are devoted to a useless list called the "1992 Subject Index." As an indexer, I am appalled. As an ACM member, I am extremely disappointed to still lack adequate access to my back issues of Communications. Pages and pages of this issue are devoted to yet another algorithm, yet another flowchart, yet another block diagram illustrating attempts to refine information access techniques. Then, in the same issue, the traditions and techniques of one of the oldest information filtering devices--the authored subject index--have been totally ignored. While some may look down their noses at authored indexes and call them a 17th century technology, no algorithm has come close to replacing the mind of an indexer. The listing on pages 102-106 is called a "Subject Index." Where are the subjects? There are no subjects. The list is divided into text types: articles, reports, columns, obituaries, departments, ACM Forum, and technical correspondence. These are not "subjects." Subjects are topics such as CASE tools, expert systems, multimedia, etc. The listing of article titles in ascending chronological order is also of dubious value. That a professional journal of this caliber would produce such an uninformative listing and call it an index is amazing to me. While it is commendable to investigate various approaches to information filtering, it is a great disappointment to note that Communications cannot provide thorough information access to its own pages. I hope that you will consider publishing a real subject index for future (and perhaps past) issues of Communications. The publication of a bona fide subject index would save me from rifling through stacks of back issues trying to find an article that I think was published in Communications. Sincerely, Nancy Mulvany cc: INDEX-L@BINGVMB.BITNET ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 25 Feb 1993 14:51:24 ECT Reply-To: Indexer's Discussion Group Sender: Indexer's Discussion Group From: Joan Stout Subject: Re: I "cc:'d" the List ! In-Reply-To: <199302251842.AA20338@lamb.sas.com>; from "Nancy C. Mulvany" at Feb 25, 93 1:38 pm Nancy, I uttered a few choice words over the STC article. Would you share that letter, too? Thanks. Joan Stout sasjcs@unx.sas.com ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 26 Feb 1993 09:01:18 ECT Reply-To: Indexer's Discussion Group Sender: Indexer's Discussion Group From: STEVE JOHNSON Subject: New Yorker index ----------------------------Original message---------------------------- To: Nancy Mulvany From: Steve Johnson, Bxzoo@manvax.bitnet Despite the oddity of the New Yorker index, my initial reaction was favorable. That is, I was surprised and pleased that the new editor of the New Yorker thought an index worth doing. This opinion was not based on an examination of the index or a test of the index. Several days later, I still haven't used the index much, although I browsed through it more or less at length. Quirks there certainly are. I dislike "classed indexes" and can't imagine why the entire index not be cumulated. Seeing the names of authors adjacent to subject headings would not confuse or distress me. Perhaps my favorite part of the index was the cover index--there is probably no better way to index magazine covers than to reproduce them. For some people, the sight of the cover might be the handiest way back to a particular story or cartoon. It is my theory that the New Yorker index grew out of the magazine's practice of indicating review dates in the regular weekly compilations of movies, etc., in New York and vicinity, which appears at the front of each issue. I find these weekly pointers to reviews quite helpful when selecting movies. Out of towners might find the annual index more helpful than the weekly index for movie selection purposes. If you are willing to share your letter to the New Yorker, I would be pleased to read it. Meantime, I expect to keep my New Yorker indexes long after I have recycled the magazines. P.S. I suppose it is only fair to mention that I am a librarian and archivist, not a professional indexer. I have compiled extensive indexes to published and unpublished material for inhouse uses. ========================================================================= Date: Fri, 26 Feb 1993 14:06:03 ECT Reply-To: Indexer's Discussion Group Sender: Indexer's Discussion Group From: "Nancy C. Mulvany" Subject: Sharing My Crank Letters ----------------------------Original message---------------------------- Two of you have asked if I would share my other two letters; one to STC, the other to The New Yorker. Initially, I felt hesitant to do this. But, upon further thought, I guess I will. Message traffic in INDEX-L has been slow lately, so I guess my letters won't be too bothersome to people who don't want to read them. Also, if I post them here, I imagine that someone will read them. I'm not certain that the real recipients will read them! Maybe be could use INDEX-L as a "crank letter archive." In the future when we want to complain about indexes we can grab pieces from previous letters! I'll find the files, convert 'em to ASCII and upload them. -nancy