Dates: June 2-27, 2014
Credits: 1.5 CEUs
Price: $175
This four-week, asynchronous online course provides an introduction to,
and hands-on practice in, the indexing process for a closed-system text
(as opposed to periodicals or databases). The main objective is to
provide the student with a beginning skill set in producing a
traditional back-of-the-book index. The intellectual and technical
skills used will also be applicable to the indexing of online materials
of various sorts. Topics will include: plumbing the indexer mind; how
users approach and use indexes; index term selection (names and
subjects); index entry formation; publisher requirements and
considerations; double-posting and cross-referencing conventions; and
editing the index for conciseness, completeness and usability. The
course will also explore, as time allows, some best practices for
indexing modular materials as well as the challenge and use of embedding
index terms in electronic documents.
