Date: Tue, 11 May 1993 15:54:33 ECT Reply-To: Indexer's Discussion Group Sender: Indexer's Discussion Group From: Carol Roberts Subject: Shared Info ----------------------------Original message---------------------------- Please excuse me if I'm asking about something that was already discussed before I came on board. I belong to a couple of organizations that maintain "experts" lists. That is, they compile info on the areas of expertise of their members and make the list available to everyone, so if you have a question, you can call someone in the group. Has anyone ever suggested doing the same on this list? My background, for example, is philosophy. So if you had a question about, say, how to list "hypothetical imperative" and didn't have another philosopher handy, you could e-mail the question to me. My question assumes, of course, that we are not all experts in every subject we happen to be indexing. What do others think? -- Carol Roberts Publications Services Cornell University cjr2@cornell.edu 607 255-9454 Practice random kindness and senseless acts of beauty. ========================================================================= Date: Tue, 11 May 1993 15:57:26 ECT Reply-To: Indexer's Discussion Group Sender: Indexer's Discussion Group From: Carolyn Kidder Subject: Re: Standards draft 3.1 (part 3) ----------------------------Original message---------------------------- I thought I'd mastered the art of alphabetization, but I've come across punctuation in the standards draft that changes things for me. I called The University of Chicago Press last Fall to get clarification on the following point: "In letter-by-letter mode one alphabetizes upt to the first mark of punctuation; that is, one ignores word spaces and alphabetizes up to the comma, colon, or period at the end of the heading, or to the comma after the first part of an inverted heading. In the word-by-word mode one applies the principle through the end of the first word and then stops, using second and subsequent words only when two or more headings begin with the same word(s)." The response I received was that the comma determines the breaking point in both styles. I understood this to mean that when alphabetizing index entries, either in letter-by-letter or word-by-word format, one should stop at the first punctuation mark. Hence, entries marked with a comma would come before similar entries with a space (the list is from section 9.7 of the draft): New, Agnes New, Agnes New Brunswick New, Thomas new journalism New Brunswick new moon should be new journalism New, Thomas new moon New York New York Newark Newark Newfoundland Newfoundland Am I way off base on this one? Did I thoroughly misunderstand something? Carolyn Kidder Assistant Technical Editor Cray Research carolyn@mayberry.cray.com ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 13 May 1993 13:45:04 ECT Reply-To: Indexer's Discussion Group Sender: Indexer's Discussion Group From: Paula Presley Subject: Shared Info In-Reply-To: In reply to your message of TUE 11 MAY 1993 16:59:28 EDT ----------------------------Original message---------------------------- I like Carol's "expert" idea... perhaps because I indexed _Heidegger and the Earth_ a couple of years ago. Even though the editor was only a few floors away and I could reach her easily, she was able to provide much help (she said she didn't think philosophy really needed an index!--but it the policy of our press that every book is indexed). I sure could have used an "expert" then. Coming up toward the end of the year is a biography of Antonin Dvorak. I listen to his music and read the info on the music tapes, but I feel like I need to "read up" on him before tackling an index lest I miss an important point not obvious to an indexer without a subject knowledge. An then there's a book on W. D. Howell's major writings of the late-late 19th century... and one on population growth and sociocultural evolution... and one on John C. Murray and Religious Toleration (I can handle this, I believe). Those on John Tyndale, Peter Martyr Vermigli, and John Calvin will be a snap for me... but if any of you have questions about Reformation history, especially the radical reformers, I'm willing to be your dial(or ke)-an-expert! (At least I have a little lead time to "read up" on the subjects we have at hand--not all indexers are that fortunate) Paula Presley Assoc. Editor, The Thomas Jefferson University Press Copy Editor, The Sixteenth Century Journal Northeast Missouri State University McClain Hall 111L Kirksville, MO 63501 (816) 785-4525 FAX (816) 785-4181 Bitnet: AD15@NEMOMUS Internet: AD15%NEMOMUS@Academic.NEMOState.EDU ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 13 May 1993 13:46:55 ECT Reply-To: Indexer's Discussion Group Sender: Indexer's Discussion Group From: mrowland@aol.com Subject: Re: Shared Info ----------------------------Original message---------------------------- Carol, I think it would be a great idea to have an Experts List. I am not familiar with Experts Lists in general, but it would be nice to be able to ask other indexers for assistance in indexing subjects they are not entirely familiar with. It would also be nice to be able to communicate with other indexers involved in indexing the same types of books and publications, to share experiences and discussions. I index books in all subject matters, particularly those of a technical nature. My masters degreee is in urban and environmental planning. Regards, Marilyn Rowland freelance indexer/writer ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 13 May 1993 13:47:19 ECT Reply-To: Indexer's Discussion Group Sender: Indexer's Discussion Group From: "James D. Anderson." Subject: Re: Standards draft 3.1 (part 3) ----------------------------Original message---------------------------- Carolyn Kidder confounds 2 issues/criteria in her note about filing recommendations in draft 3.1 of the NISO standard guidelines for indexes. The first is "letter by letter" or "word by word" filing, or, whether a "space" counts as a character. The committee prefers word by word filing because it means that entries beginning with the same word will file together. The second issue is whether punctuation has any filing value, and if so what punctuation, when. The committee follows both ALA and LC in saying that all punctuation (and other non-alphanumerica symbols) should be ignored. Related to this is opposition to filing on the basis of the nature of the item represented rather than the actual heading. We feel that it is too esoteric for most folks to file names differently than, say, book titles. We suggest that all headings should be files by the alphanumeric characters they contain, including spaces, but on the basis of nothing else. Thus, in the example given, we have: New, Agnes New Brunswick Not: New, Agnes New, Thomas New Brunswick If you file surnames before other headings, what would you do with a book title like "New, old, and sweet." Would that come before New, Thomas and before New Brunswick? For most folks, we find all these special rules much too esoteric, so we are striving for the simplist possible set of rules. Jim Anderson Chair, NISO committee on standards for indexes ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 13 May 1993 14:02:16 ECT Reply-To: Indexer's Discussion Group Sender: Indexer's Discussion Group From: Carolyn Kidder Subject: ASI Chapters ----------------------------Original message---------------------------- Greetings! Are there any ASI Chapters in the Twin Cities, or the surrounding area? I belei ve that there is in Milwaukee or in Madison. I live in Eau Claire, Wi, and the Twin Cities would be easier to travel to than the cities in Eastern Wisconsin. Thanks, Carolyn Kidder assistant technical editor Cray Research, Inc. carolyn@mayberry.cray.com ========================================================================= Date: Thu, 13 May 1993 14:17:14 ECT Reply-To: Indexer's Discussion Group Sender: Indexer's Discussion Group From: Charlotte Skuster Subject: index-l on vacation Greetings....I am leaving for vacation tomorrow and will return on the 25th of May. So if you have messages for index-l you can go ahead and send them but they will not be posted to the list until I get back. Or, hold that thought for awhile. Those of you who are going to the ASI meeting---enjoy! Charlotte Skuster Index-l moderator