Our new book is a guide for indexers and people working with indexers. It covers a wide range of indexing topics from introductory material to specialist formats including periodicals, online help, and bibliographic databases, and discusses related fields such as records management and museum cataloguing.
The Indexing Companion was published by Cambridge University Press, Melbourne in March 2007. A direct link to the CUP catalog is provided here.
The Indexing Companion is also available from Amazon.
Reviews
Quote from a review in The Indexer, v.25 n.3 April 2007 pp. 214-215, by Frances Lennie
“Passion is the word that first springs to mind about this work. The authors are obviously dedicated to their craft and this evidences itself in so many ways, from the breadth of their discussion to the depth of knowledge displayed.
The focus of the book is ‘primarily Australian’ (p. xi), but with direct relevance to indexers worldwide and something for every level of experience…
Like a really good companion this book both sustains and surprises: sustains by providing validation of existing practices, challenges you to consider new techniques (e.g. embedding, PDFs, XML) and future opportunities, and surprises with its no-stone-unturned (almost) approach to resources, many web-based and international in nature…
The writing style is crisp and clear. It moves along at a rattling pace with an energy rarely encountered in similar definitive works…
The authors also tackle topics that could date the text – software and trend-spotting – but do so in such a manner that they will stand the test of time and not try the reader’s patience with prognostication or prediction.”
Quote from a review in Webology by Mernoush Mozzafarian:
Overall, ‘The Indexing Companion‘ is a well-titled and valuable book. The value of the book lies in the fact that it has been written from the practical point of view of indexers and by two professional indexers. A strong point of the book is its structure and organization of its contents. It does not have to be read from cover to cover and could be used like a reference book. It can be used as a manual by indexers. It is also a helpful and enlightening book for graduate students or information professionals that wish to get acquainted with indexing.
Read the full review at:http://www.webology.ir/2007/v4n4/bookreview9.html
Quote from a review in Blue Pencil, March 2009, by Angela Grant:
In summary, Browne and Jermey have provided both novices and experienced indexers with a most useful reference tool. All information professionals –whether librarian, editor, writer or indexer–will learn something new, or at the very least, a different slant, on how to approach the indexing of information.
Blue Pencil is the newsletter of the NSW Society of Editors.
Quote from a review in Key Words, October-December 2007, by Christine Franks:
This companion is not only the indexer’s newest friend but a reference book lover’s dream. All the basics are here, plus things readers may never have known they needed to know, such as indexing of e-books and of fiction and the names of a large handful of markup languages….