Members

Volunteers Needed

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Thank you as always to all the volunteers who devote time and energy to the Society. We all benefit greatly from it.

Conference 2023

Yes! Unbelievable as it is … we are starting to think about next year. And, cross your fingers, nose, and toes, it might even be in person. This is a committee of six people, who each have their own tasks but also come together to make decisions as a collective. As usual, we have three people returning, but need three more. Team players need apply! You do need to have attended past conferences.

Conference 2023 Scholarships

Along with the excitement of an in-person conference comes the realization that we need to start counting our pennies. The Society thinks that attending the conference is important in the career of a new indexer, so we are subsidising some travel expenses. If you think you will not be applying for this scholarship, please help us decide who will! This is an ad hoc committee, so the duties will be finished even before the conference has begun.

New Indexer Resource Committee (NIRC)

This is a brand-spanking new committee … it started as an ad hoc committee, but they have made the request to have it be a standing committee. Natch, we need a few volunteers for this. If you feel creative and enjoy writing, this is the job for you. Conversely, if you (like me) can’t write your way out of a paper bag but enjoy editing and proofing, the committee needs you too! This is a good volunteer position for either an experienced OR a new indexer.

Recording Secretary

Our wonderful recording secretary has recently taken over the coordinator position of the Mary Newberry Mentorship Program (yay). So … we need a new person to take the minutes at the executive committee meetings. The position involves attending and writing up the minutes for six meetings a year. You get to see the inner workings of the executive committee without the responsibility of being on it! Fun!

Social Media Committee

We have someone (thanks, Jess!) at the moment who is posting what is given to them by the communications director, but we really need a few people to be on a committee to determine what to say and when.

Webinars

We have a webinar coordinator and someone else with good ideas. However, the committee could use a nuts-and-bolts person … to help think about registration forms, payment options and so forth. If you like those details, the committee would be grateful for your contributions. We could also use a website host … someone to welcome the presenter and so forth.

Ad Hoc Committees

Often, when the executive committee is meeting, we come up with an idea of something that we think will benefit the Society and form an ad hoc committee to do the research and come back with a recommendation. It is great if we can find Society members who are not on the executive committee to belong to these committees. If you would like to help somehow and you are not excited by any of the above ideas, please let me know that you might be available for an ad hoc committee. You are under no obligation to be on any of them, I would just email to ask once in a while, and you could see whether you thought a particular committee might work for you.

Please contact presidents@indexers.ca to find out more about these volunteer positions.

ISC/SCI Has a New Co-President

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Changes afoot …! The executive committee has accepted Jason’s resignation and asked Tere Mullin to step up from her position as Eastern Region representative to become co-president with Alexandra Peace.

Please join me in wishing Jason well and welcoming Tere to her new position.

Jason Begy

After a wonderful nine or so months of serving as co-president with Alex, I am stepping down. A career opportunity has come up that is simply too good for me to pass on, but it will require all of my focus and attention. The ISC/SCI has been an invaluable aspect of my indexing career, and I have especially enjoyed these past few years as part of the executive committee. I leave you in Alex’s exceptionally capable hands, and I hope you’ll join me in welcoming Tere Mullin as she steps-in to take over for me.

Tere Mullin

Dear Colleagues and Friends,

It’s lovely to be saying hello to you as your new co-president. I’m honoured and delighted to have this opportunity, and I’m very much looking forward to serving you as I learn and grow within this role.

I am relatively new to indexing, having started working full-time in early 2021. I enjoy working in a variety of scholarly subject areas within the humanities and social sciences, particularly archaeology and anthropology. Although I came to indexing quite by accident, as many people seem to, I now can’t imagine doing anything else. My involvement with ISC/ISC has grown in tandem with my indexing practice, and I’ve had the privilege of serving as Eastern regional representative and coordinator of the Mary Newberry Mentorship Program. I feel truly fortunate to be a member of this supportive and dynamic community, and I hope to pay it forward. I look forward to meeting you all at the next get-together. Until then, I wish you all a joyous spring!

2021-2022 Diversity in Canadian Publishing Bursary Award: datejie cheko green

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This month the Indexing Society of Canada / Société canadienne d’indexation (ISC/SCI) announced that datejie cheko green is the winner of the 2021-2022 ISC/SCI Diversity in Canadian Publishing Bursary Award.

datejie is a journalist, digital consultant, and interdisciplinary scholar whose knowledge production spans genres and sectors. Her research interests include decolonial and environmental movements with a focus on uncovering and translating the histories of systems, structures and relations that have led to inequalities today. She has been a union organizer for freelancers, equity-seeking journalists and knowledge workers in Canada and the US, leading her further into projects innovating digital justice.

Since entering journalism through community radio, datejie has tracked gaps and opportunities for more cohesive creation, publication and preservation of the work and works of marginalized peoples – as journalists, and as news subjects. Her early interests in archiving radio and film led her to self study and training of research methods, cataloguing systems, digital asset management software, metadata practices, national and international preservation standards and protocols. 

Looking back at history and forward to posterity, datejie’s current work seeks to address the contemporary urgency for digital literacy, media literacy, news literacy through radical, collective and community-minded publishing, preservation, and archiving. She is presently developing news programming and teaching modules focused by, for and about Black journalists. 

With this bursary, ISC/SCI aims to help achieve equality of opportunity for aspiring indexers belonging to underrepresented and/or marginalized groups. The bursary covers fees for an approved indexing program, two years of ISC membership with listing, and entry into the Mary Newberry Mentorship program.

In addition, six 6-month trial memberships were awarded to Sarah Kahale (BC), Alexander Benmerrouche (SK), Ashley Lavadinho (ON), Jude Klaassen (QC), Fenrir Cerebellion (BC), and Mieke Leigh (BC).

View press release.

2021 Tamarack Award: Siusan Moffat

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Toronto: The Indexing Society of Canada / Société canadienne d’indexation (ISC/SCI) is pleased to announce the 2021 recipient of the Tamarack Award. Siusan Moffat (Toronto) is being recognized for her contribution and commitment to the society.

Siusan was chosen for her drive to help ISC/SCI be more representative of the diversity present in Canada. Siusan’s colleagues had the following to say about her:

She took the Truth and Reconciliation Commission work to heart, and used her passionate energy to found The Inclusion, Diversity and Equity Committee (TIDE). She has consistently looked for ways to get the word out about indexing to people from marginalized or otherwise underrepresented groups who might be interested.

The TIDE committee is accomplishing something wonderful, and this is thanks in large part to Siusan—from Bulletin articles to webinars to the Diversity in Canadian Publishing Bursary, now seeing its second year. Thank you, Siusan, for your hard work that is affecting real people. And thank you for so positively affecting me, as a colleague, team member, and friend.

She was additionally a hard-working and diligent member of the Executive Committee, and in every instance, I found her to be a kind and compassionate colleague to work with.

“I am thrilled to present this award to Siusan, and we are honoured to have her as a member of our society,” said Alexandra Peace, President. “Thank you, Siusan, for all you have given to the society and its membership.”

The Tamarack Award was instituted to recognize members who go “above and beyond the call of duty” in their volunteer work for the Society.

2021 Diversity in Canadian Publishing Bursary Award: Nicole Riguidel

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Today the Indexing Society of Canada / Société canadienne d’indexation (ISC/SCI) announced that Nicole Riguidel is the winner of the 2021 ISC/SCI Diversity in Canadian Publishing Bursary Award.

Nicole Riguidel is a Métis woman from Paradise Hill, Saskatchewan. Growing up on a farm in rural Saskatchewan fed her love for animals and the outdoors, leading her to complete a Bachelor of Science in Animal Bioscience and to work as a veterinary technician. Hoping to expand into a career involving books, Nicole recently graduated with a diploma in Library and Information Technology and currently works as a library technician in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

As an aspiring indexer, Nicole looks forward to the opportunity to combine her background in the sciences with her library and information technology skills. Outside of work, she can be found crafting, reading, spending time outside exploring new hiking trails, or at the dog park with her Greyhound–Border Collie cross, Daisy.

Congratulations, Nicole!