Members

Surplus funds committee wants your ideas (by April 28)

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The ISC/SCI has, over the years, accumulated some surplus funds. Some of these funds will be kept aside as a reserve in case of deficit. However, that still leaves some extra funds that we can spend.

We, the Special Projects Committee, have been tasked with recommending what that money should be spent on. We are also developing criteria for the selection of special projects, and we’re moving forward with that task in tandem with soliciting ideas so that implementations of special projects have greater momentum.

Some ideas that have already arisen …

  • bursary for a person of colour (see discussion on the ISC/SCI list)
  • bursary for an Indigenous person (see discussion on the ISC/SCI list)
  • online subscription to the Chicago Manual of Style (from a member at a regional meeting)
  • online subscription to the Literary Marketplace (from a member at a regional meeting)
  • award to a publisher for a great index (from a member of the executive committee)

We would like to invite you, the members, to submit any ideas you might have that would benefit the membership.
Please send an email with your idea and how it might benefit the members to the Special Projects Committee to Alex@AlexandraPeace.com
by SATURDAY, APRIL 28, 2018.

Many thanks,

Special Projects Committee
Alexandra Peace
Frances Robinson
Siusan Moffat
Maria van Beuren
Ronnie Seagren

Indexing Society of Canada unveils new friendlier website

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April 19, 2018

The Indexing Society of Canada / Société canadienne d’indexation (ISC/SCI) is announcing the launch of its redesigned website indexers.ca. The new design provides more functionality, friendlier navigation, and improved readibility for visitors on desktops and mobile devices.

The Register of Indexers Available (“Find an Indexer” page) was completely rewritten. Visitors in need of an indexer can search by subject area or a keyword. Searches can also be made for specialization in types of materials (such as databases, multimedia) and related information skills (for example abstracting, thesaurus construction).

Visitors looking for information on indexing courses, tools, and practices will have an easier time finding what they need with the expanded layout.

For greater engagement with the community, we added a calendar to announce our local meetings and annual national conference.

Visit indexers.ca today and consider telling us what you think by sending us an email or posting a comment on our Facebook page.

About the Indexing Society of Canada / Société canadienne d’indexation

The ISC/SCI is Canada’s national association of indexers. Founded in 1977 as the Indexing and Abstracting Society of Canada / Société canadienne pour l’analyse de documents (IASC/SCAD), its mission is to encourage the production and use of indexes, promote the recognition of indexers, improve indexing techniques, and provide a means of communication among individual indexers across Canada. ISC/SCI is affiliated with indexing societies around the world through an international agreement. Learn more at indexers.ca

Winner of 2017 Purple Pen: Sergey Lobachev

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Sergey Lobachev has won the 2017 Purple Pen Competition sponsored by the Institute of Certified Indexers.  His index will appear in the book The Magnificent Nahanni: The Struggle to Protect a Wild Place by Gordon and Shirley Nelson (published by the University of Regina Press).  The judges praised his index for its strong treatment of the book’s main topics which would especially aid a re-reader trying to find material.  Moreover, he provided useful conceptual analysis, for entries like “wilderness” that a word search would not catch; it takes intellectual analysis of the text to recognize these, and the index showed he had put real thought into compiling and structuring these entries.

Sergey said that this was his first project for the University of Regina Press whom he had solicited for work by sending a letter to the Press.  He found the book a challenge to index as it involved distinguishing among the Nahanni ecosystem, Nahanni National Park Reserve, Nahanni people, Nahanni River, and Nahanni Valley.  He also had to carefully input the diacritics which he did accurately and showed his attention to detail.

Sergey completed the University of California, Berkeley, course “Indexing: Theory and Application” in 2013, and shortly after had launched his indexing business.  A Board member of the Indexing Society of Canada/Société canadienne d’indexation, he lives in London, Ontario.  Prior to becoming an indexer, he worked in academic and public libraries, and he holds a Master of Library and Information Science degree from the University of Western Ontario. He also retains a membership in the American Society for Indexing (ASI).

This is the fourth year that the contest has been held by ICI, and it is interesting to note what a strong showing the Canadian indexers have made in the contest, winning three out of four years! The competition was stiff for the winner, with several people entering again and using prior feedback from earlier years’ entries to improve their work.  The judges noted especially that the newbies were doing a better job in handling the metatopic in their work.  All entrants receive a detailed feedback scoresheet.

The judging is done anonymously by three members of the Institute of Certified Indexers (ICI).  The winner receives a check for $100 as well as the publicity of appearing on the ICI website: www.certifiedindexers.com and notification of the book’s publisher and authors.  This honor also helps the new indexer in terms of building confidence and gaining career satisfaction.