Academic authors: don't let your book index be your villain origin story; hire a professional indexer. We're worth the cost and you deserve the saved sanity. (I gripe, but I do also enjoy this sort of question.)

Sarah Oelker (buxuyaojieguo)@buxuyaojieguo.bsky.social · 5d ago

Indexing CERN. Hooboy. Thank you, CMoS 18, for load-bearing language in 15.54 of "widely known under," which is keeping me from becoming the Joker about this right now.

I work at a public library. People who want to use AI seem to have no trouble doing so. People who don't want to use AI have a harder time. I crowdsourced and then finalized this document "How to disable or avoid intrusive AI" and then gave it a short URL: notoai.org Please pass along if it's useful

I've confirmed that the UK's new Sovereign AI Fund does no due diligence on whether AI companies use copyrighted work without permission before investing in them. It took me 3 Freedom of Information requests to find this out: 🧵 1/10

What are the distinctive challenges of indexing books about music or dance? Our Coffee Morning on 16 July looked at this topic, with presentations by Marian Aird, @baindex.org, and Pauline Hubner.

I'm indexing a book about the Holocaust at this very moment, so will be taking my own advice. This post grew out of an @indexers Coffee Morning - thanks to all those who shared their experiences there.

Society of Indexers@indexers.bsky.social · 2w ago

How can indexers work best with books that cover challenging or upsetting subjects? Indexer @tanyaizzard.bsky.social discusses ways to support yourself if you're working with material you find difficult: buff.ly/GMf5ZeX

If I was Prime Minister - and thank goodness I'm not, because I've been the length and breadth of Downing Street and never spotted a decent wool shop.

Thinking about book indexing as a career? Our online distance-learning training course will take you from beginner to accredited professional indexer, ready for your first commission. Explore the course modules and assessments in more detail through our blog post:

Becoming an indexer 2: the Society of Indexers training course modules

Are you thinking about training as an indexer? This is the first of three blog posts that give an overview of the Society of Indexers training course. It gives

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How do you find the right book indexer for your book? Use our Professional Directory and you'll find an indexer with the right expertise and experience for your project buff.ly/SYKV5Qw

Become a book indexer. Read books, write indexes, get an intellectual workout, work flexibly from home, get paid. Find out more about our indexing training course buff.ly/kwhStax

The American Society for Indexing (ASI) committee on AI has released an FAQ about the use of AI in #indexing: asindexing.org/ai-and-index... #IndexSky

In today's Ask the Indexers blog post, our panel tell us what they wish people understood about our niche job - mainly, that it really is a job, and that no, a computer/AI can't do it. Read more here: buff.ly/VREMHpE #IndexSky

Ask the Indexers: what’s the thing you wish everyone understood about indexing?

In our latest Ask the Indexers blog post, our panel members offer insight into the sometimes hidden world of indexing. Samantha Clark, Advanced Professional Mem

indexers.org.uk

This morning’s Talking About the Past Zoom session was about indexing local history. Ann Hudson, who has years of experience of indexing this area, talked us through the issues and shared some fascinating examples from her own work.

Book indexers get paid to read books, write indexes, get an intellectual workout and work flexibly from home. We work with authors and publishers on all sorts of books and journals. Find out more about our indexing training course buff.ly/kwhStax

I've never indexed pure local history but have definitely done books that will be of interest to local history readers - family histories, collected letters and diaries all fall into this category - so this was a really useful session, helping me think about what these readers need from my indexes.

Society of Indexers@indexers.bsky.social · last mo.

This morning’s Talking About the Past Zoom session was about indexing local history. Ann Hudson, who has years of experience of indexing this area, talked us through the issues and shared some fascinating examples from her own work.

I get variety in my work even within my areas of expertise, but it's good to do something different - recently I've stretched myself with books on crime, book collecting and plastic in art, all of which taught me a lot about indexing as well as being glimpses into new worlds #IndexSky

Society of Indexers@indexers.bsky.social · last mo.

In our latest blog post, our panel of expert indexers discuss pushing their professional boundaries. When is it a good idea to stretch yourself and take on something different or challenging? And conversely, when is it a good idea to know your limits?

How do you find the right book indexer for your book? Use our Professional Directory and you'll find an indexer with the right expertise and experience for your project buff.ly/j248fTF

If you like cryptic crosswords repost this

RIP David Hockney, what a life and what a body of work. I have a postcard of this self-portrait propped up on my desk - I find it very encouraging

So far at @asindexing.bsky.social's 2026 online conference we've had a thought-provoking session on risk management and mitigation from Maria Sullivan. Next is a keynote on scholarly publishing in the US #IndexSky

I'm just setting up with my knitting and a new Notion page for all my notes. Looking forward to hearing the speakers today.

Paula Clarke Bain@baindex.org · 2mo ago

The @asindexing.bsky.social 2026 virtual conference ‘Indexing in Interesting Times’ starts today. @tanyaizzard.bsky.social and others from @indexers.bsky.social will be there for day 1, and I’m attending all of day 2 live tomorrow. Wishing a good one to our international indexing friends! #IndexSky

Have you ever considered becoming a book indexer? It’s a stimulating career working flexibly from home with publishers and authors. Learn more from our blog series on becoming an indexer buff.ly/lki49CS

Book indexers are asked all the time whether a computer - or, lately AI - can do our job. Neither or a computer or AI can index adequately - our panel of expert indexers explain why you still need a human being to index your book:

Ask the Indexers: can’t a computer do that?

This is the first in a series of blog posts that ask a panel of experienced indexers questions about indexing practice and life as an indexer. These will be app

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Readers disappointed by a poor index, a regular series. Hire a human to index your book!

Julie Warren@vathenauk.bsky.social · 2mo ago

I recently bought a recipe book and the index was clearly made by AI or a computer. It's such a load of pointless rubbish they might as well have saved the cost of printing it!

Some support for book indexes here. @indexers.bsky.social has a directory of indexers should you need to find one.

Jonathan Calder@lordbonkers.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Liberal England: Why non-fiction books need their indexes

Readers disappointed by the lack of an index, a regular series:

Kevin M. Levin@civilwarmemory.bsky.social · 2mo ago

I understand that trade presses take different approaches in acknowledging the research that goes into history books, but I picked up a new book that contains no footnotes or endnotes, no bibliography or further reading, and no index. The publisher is asking me to engage in an act of faith. No thnx.

How does a book indexing project work? What should I expect as a client? How do I find the right indexer for my project? Our blog series on index commissioning takes you through the process in helpful detail buff.ly/fWpnjja

This was a fascinating discussion and I'm looking forward to making use of in situ notes in a future index #IndexSky

Society of Indexers@indexers.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Eighteen SI members met this morning to return to the topic of introductory notes to indexes. Ann Hudson had reviewed the guidance on these in indexing standards, and reference works, and found that most agreed with our conclusions: notes can be helpful, but should be used sparingly and kept short.

📢📢📢 It's US publication day!! Here is a 30% discount code for the Princeton University Press site (P329) for when copies cross the Atlantic! A bargain at less than £25 and the perfect beach read for summer.

Very interesting thread on AI use in (US) publishing #IndexSky

Carolina VonKampen 📚 Freelance Editor@carolinavonkampen.com · 3mo ago

I’m attending #PurePubAI, a virtual conference about #AI in #publishing workflows. Read about the con here: purepub.ai Today’s session is AI in Book Publishing, moderated by Kathy Sandler, and featuring speakers Erin Servais, Jane Friedman, Fauzia Burke, and Sara Lloyd. #amediting #editorsky

There actually are professional indexers, and you can meet the UK branch via our professional directory: www.indexers.org.uk/find-an-inde...

Al Mackey@almackey.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Are there actually professional indexers, and what kind of psychologically damaged person would do that for a living?