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Back to Spring Meeting 2007 program page
Spring Meeting 2007 Presentation
The Unbearable "Aboutness" of Periodical and Database Indexing
Presented by Linda Dunn
(Click here to view the Powerpoint presentation)
In her presentation entitled "The Unbearable Aboutness of Periodical Indexing," Linda Dunn, a periodical indexer for over 25 years, spoke on how periodical indexing is different from book indexing. Linda started off with definitions of terms and an explanation of the different types of periodical indexes that exist, which included showing images from various print periodical indexes. Before focusing on the differences between book and periodical indexing, Linda also mentioned some of the similarities.
The similarities between both kinds of indexing include the use of the same kinds of terms and the same indexing principles. The same kinds of terms include those for person names, corporate names, events, titles of works, equipment names, and subject terms. The same indexing principals include internal consistency of headings and format and the use of subject hierarchies (subheadings or subentries).
The differences between both book and periodical indexing are significant. In periodical indexing, the indexing of each edition exists in a context, the indexing is done at a broader level, the indexes can include metadata, and the indexing must be done more quickly. Indexing in a context means that each periodical edition must correspond to other editions in the same index in format, graphic layout, and the choice between use keywords or a controlled vocabulary. Meta data indexing includes bibliographic citation, article type, and the language of the article. Use of a database helps ensure timeliness, and quicker indexing requires skimming, not actual reading the articles.
To ensure consistency of names involves using authority files of standardized names, and to ensure the consistency of topics involves using controlled vocabulary, especially one that is of a thesaurus type. The periodical issues for the same periodical should be indexed in the same way, with the same recurring columns and reviews indexed the same with the same types of headings. Inclusions and omissions of articles should be the same for each issue, author names should be standardized..
Periodical article indexing is done at a broader level than book indexing. The indexing focuses on "aboutness" of the article, what it is about on the article level in its entirety. In deciding the specificity of the heading, Linda recommends using a "ladder" technique in choosing among broader narrower concepts. The article might start off broad in its introduction and then turns out to actually be more specific. Linda also recommends the "rule of four" technique. If there are four or more specific topics, instances, or names, then it is better not to index the specifics, but rather index with the broader heading.
At the end of the presentation, Linda had the participants do an exercise in assigning index terms to an article.
Linda Dunn has been a periodical indexer for more than 25 years, and is former editor of the print index, Film Literature Index. She worked as an indexer and abstractor for EBSCO Publishing during the transition of the Film Literature Index into the database Film & Television Literature Index. She currently works as a freelance indexer/editor for several periodical databases both large and small. She is a member of both the New York and the New England chapters of ASI.
E-mail: linda47dunn@yahoo.com