Hello,

To all of you Canadians, in particular, a blessed National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, also known as Orange Shirt Day, remembering all those who attended Indian residential schools, especially those who died.

This morning my wife and I attended the opening ceremony at Fort Edmonton Park. An older Indigenous man was angry and shouting prior to the ceremony, though I wasn’t close enough to hear what about. As part of her opening prayer, the presiding Elder acknowledged this man and his pain, and spoke of the need to learn how to speak gently. A good lesson that it is easy to respond to pain and anger with more shouting or by giving the person a wide berth. It takes true strength and inner healing to respond with gentleness, to mourn with those who mourn.

If I was more prepared, maybe I could have written something today about indexing books by and about Indigenous Peoples. I index a few such books each year, which I am honored to do so. I still don’t know, though, if I am the best person for the job, as a white settler who didn’t really grow up in Canada, though I do have ancestors who engaged in the Canadian colonial project. But I am here anyway, for better or worse. Hopefully learning how to be better.

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Being the last Tuesday of the month, it is also time for the second installment of my new Q&A feature. You ask a question and I will endeavor to reply.

Today’s question is about double-posting:

This is a very good question. I run into this issue too, especially if I have three, four, or even five duplicate headings and subheadings across an index. It can be tough to remember what they all are and where they all are.

I have four suggestions for how to be more efficient and consistent when double-posting.

1. Double-post when you think of it. Don’t wait for later, when you will need to backtrack and remember what you did. Take a moment, when creating an entry, to consider all of the other possible places where that entry might go. How is the entry related to other terms or concepts? Where else might readers search? If any come to mind, go ahead and double-post before you forget. That said, indexing is also an iterative process. The thought to double-post may not come until later. I do the same thing then too, creating the double-post when I think of it, and perhaps going back to double-post the previous locators. Now it is done and I can move forward.
2. Use similar language. Especially when a main heading is double-posted as a subheading, or if a subheading is repeated throughout an index, use similar language. Make it easy for yourself, and for the reader, to identify that these are the same thing. The phrasing does not need to be identical, and may need to be adjusted to fit the different arrays, but try to keep the core terms the same.
3. Leave yourself notes. While similar language is appropriate in some situations, synonyms, or other forms of different language, may be more appropriate in other situations. To remember those connections, write a note wherever you keep notes about the project. Or, create a temporary cross-reference. These can serve as reminders to check for consistency later.
4. Use indexing software to create temporary groups. I use Cindex. In Cindex, it is possible to search for specific terms and create a temporary group, seeing only the arrays that fall within the search parameters. This is where using similar language is helpful, though it is possible in Cindex to also search for multiple terms, such as synonyms. Assuming not too many entries get picked up by the search, I should be able to see all arrays on the screen at the same time, which makes it much easier to compare locators and spot inconsistencies. Much more efficient than scrolling through the index trying to remember where I double-posted. I don’t know if Index-Manager, Macrex, or SKY offer similar capabilities. Whatever program you use, see if you can use it to your advantage to more easily find and check double-posts.

I believe some indexers prefer to save double-posting to the end of the indexing process. That is another option.

Whatever your approach to double-posting, the key for speed and consistency is to turn it into a repeatable process. One of my greatest fears is that I forget and miss an entry, but if I have a process both for creating double-posts and for checking double-posts, then I can be confident in the process and that double-posts will be consistently made.

To your speedy and consistent success,

Stephen

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PS. If you have a question about indexing, whether the craft or business, please let me know! You can ask your question here. A link is also always below, in the footer. I look forward to hearing from you.