Since 1994, Nancy Mulvany's "Indexing Books" has been the golden standard for thousands of professional indexers, editors, and authors. This long-awaited second edition, expanded and completely up-dated, 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, as she does here, 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.

About the Author

Nancy C. Mulvany is a professional indexer and the owner of Bayside Indexing Service. She has taught many indexing courses and is the publisher of i-TORQUE, a newsletter for indexers.

Reviews

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

"The virtues and excitement of indexing (yes!) come through loud and clear." - Hazel K. Bell, Logos "Mulvany's book contains a complete course on book indexing. Every point discussed is illustrated from published indexes and/or ad hoc examples. Many perplexing points are given detailed treatment for which one may search in vain elsewhere." - Mary Piggott, The Indexer"