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Overview
Since 1994, Nancy Mulvany's Indexing Books has been the gold standard for thousands of professional indexers, editors, and authors. This long-awaited second edition, expanded and completely updated, will be equally revered.
Like its predecessor, this edition of Indexing Books offers comprehensive, reliable treatment of indexing principles and practices relevant to authors and indexers alike. In addition to practical advice, the book presents a big-picture perspective on the nature and purpose of indexes and their role in published works. New to this edition are discussions of "information overload" and the role of the index, open-system versus closed-system indexing, electronic submission and display of indexes, and trends in software development, among other topics.
Mulvany is equally comfortable focusing on the nuts and bolts of indexing—how to determine what is indexable, how to decide the depth of an index, and how to work with publisher instructions—and broadly surveying important sources of indexing guidelines such as The Chicago Manual of Style, Sun Microsystems, Oxford University Press, NISO TR03, and ISO 999. Authors will appreciate Mulvany's in-depth consideration of the costs and benefits of preparing one's own index versus hiring a professional, while professional indexers will value Mulvany's insights into computer-aided indexing. Helpful appendixes include resources for indexers, a worksheet for general index specifications, and a bibliography of sources to consult for further information on a range of topics.
Indexing Books is both a practical guide and a manifesto about the vital role of the human-crafted index in the Information Age. As the standard indexing reference, it belongs on the shelves of everyone involved in writing and publishing nonfiction books.
Synopsis
Since 1994, Nancy Mulvany's Indexing Books has been the gold standard for thousands of professional indexers, editors, and authors. This long-awaited second edition, expanded and completely updated, will be equally revered.
Like its predecessor, this edition of Indexing Books offers comprehensive, reliable treatment of indexing principles and practices relevant to authors and indexers alike. In addition to practical advice, the book presents a big-picture perspective on the nature and purpose of indexes and their role in published works. New to this edition are discussions of "information overload" and the role of the index, open-system versus closed-system indexing, electronic submission and display of indexes, and trends in software development, among other topics.
Mulvany is equally comfortable focusing on the nuts and bolts of indexing—how to determine what is indexable, how to decide the depth of an index, and how to work with publisher instructions—and broadly surveying important sources of indexing guidelines such as The Chicago Manual of Style, Sun Microsystems, Oxford University Press, NISO TR03, and ISO 999. Authors will appreciate Mulvany's in-depth consideration of the costs and benefits of preparing one's own index versus hiring a professional, while professional indexers will value Mulvany's insights into computer-aided indexing. Helpful appendixes include resources for indexers, a worksheet for general index specifications, and a bibliography of sources to consult for further information on a range of topics.
Indexing Books is both a practical guide and a manifesto about the vital role ofthe human-crafted index in the Information Age. As the standard indexing reference, it belongs on the shelves of everyone involved in writing and publishing nonfiction books.
Library Journal
Give a hearty welcome to this much-needed and highly understandable handbook covering the mechanics of book index preparation. Written by a professional indexer, this thorough how-to guide covers such topics as the book production process, assigning headings and subentries, laying out and editing an index, rules for proper names and alphabetizing, cross references, indexing standards, and methods and tools for indexing, including a list of available indexing software. While it does not cover a broad theoretical base and is limited to ``back-of-the book indexing,'' Mulvany's extensive work will be an excellent supplement to Donald and Ana Cleveland's Introduction to Indexing and Abstracting (Libraries Unlimited, 1990 . 2d ed.) and Hans Wellisch's Indexing from A to Z (H.W. Wilson, 1991). Of value as a reference source and as a textbook, Indexing Books will be of immediate use to indexers, teachers, authors, editors, technical writers, and library school students. Highly recommended for academic and public library professional collections.-- Angela Washington-Blair, Texas Woman's Univ. SLIS, Denton
Editorials
The Indexer
Mulvaney's book is widely used as a textbook in North America, and the release of a revised second edition will quite likely ensure its continued popularity. . . . I have utmost respect for anyone with enough patience to write, let alone revise, a thorough textbook that covers all aspects of indexing. Mulvaney's pertinent . . . discussions of important issues facing our profession gives this volume an importance beyond the realm of mere instruction.— Ruth Pincoe
C&RL News
"[Indexing Books] should be on every aspiring indexer's reading list."
Technical Communication
When you are an acknowledged leader in your field, and you have literally 'written the book' on indexing, what do you do for an encore? If you are Nancy Mulvany, professional indexer and author of the industry standard Indexing Books, you write a second edition that reflects the concerns of indexers in the 21st century.— Dick Evans
Technicalities
I am a huge fan of this book. It is engagingly written in jargon-free English with a well-designed format. I highly recommend it for all faculty of information studies libraries and those libraries that may have among their users would-be indexers or authors that are interested in knowing about the methods of indexing their books. . . . This second edition should replace the first edition on library shelves."— Jean Weihs
The Indexer
"Mulvaney's book is widely used as a textbook in North America, and the release of a revised second edition will quite likely ensure its continued popularity. . . . I have utmost respect for anyone with enough patience to write, let alone revise, a thorough textbook that covers all aspects of indexing. Mulvaney's pertinent . . . discussions of important issues facing our profession gives this volume an importance beyond the realm of mere instruction."
Technical Communication
"When you are an acknowledged leader in your field, and you have literally 'written the book' on indexing, what do you do for an encore? If you are Nancy Mulvany, professional indexer and author of the industry standard Indexing Books, you write a second edition that reflects the concerns of indexers in the 21st century."
Technicalities
"I am a huge fan of this book. It is engagingly written in jargon-free English with a well-designed format. I highly recommend it for all faculty of information studies libraries and those libraries that may have among their users would-be indexers or authors that are interested in knowing about the methods of indexing their books. . . . This second edition should replace the first edition on library shelves."