An indexer is a person who organizes information and creates an index that can be used to find it. When someone opens a nonfiction book and looks something up in the index, they are taking advantage of that person’s hard work. Books, magazine articles, and other types of publications can all be indexed indexers. Depending on their skill sets and the areas in which they work, they may also provide abstraction and databasing services.
Authors are traditionally responsible for their own indexing. However, this is a highly specialized skill, and most authors are not capable of performing it, preferring to delegate the task to an indexer. Indexers are frequently freelancers who work on a project-by-project basis. Some may work for publishing houses, with large publishing houses employing an indexing staff. Working as part of a team provides stability as well as access to style guidelines, which can be useful when creating an index.
Although computer programs can attempt to create an index for a book, the job is usually best left to an indexer. Although computers are very good at concordance, or identifying where specific words or phrases appear, and some are intelligent enough to determine how relevant an appearance is, they can still make mistakes.
An indexer reads a book cover to cover, receiving proofs with page numbers at the end. He or she makes a list of key phrases and words, as well as where they appear, in order to begin compiling an index. An indexer’s job is difficult because he or she must consider the needs of an audience when determining what terms people might want to look up.
To do a good job, the indexer must consider where people might look for a term; for example, in a cookbook, someone looking for a recipe for carrot cake might look for “cake, carrot” or “carrot cake,” and the indexer must decide which is the most appropriate. He or she must also have a consistent personal style. If “cake, carrot” is used, then any cake entry in the index will be formatted in the same way: “cake, chocolate,” “cake, marble,” “cake, angel food,” and so on.
The finished index is sent to the publisher, who incorporates it into the final publication before printing and distributing it. The document is usually checked to see if it will work with the publication and if it is appropriate for the intended audience. For example, the author may scan it to ensure that key topics are covered in the index. In a book about nutrition, for example, terms like “calories,” “diet,” “nutritional values,” and so on might be expected to appear in the index.
Indexers can attend indexing certification classes and seminars to receive training. This type of training is also available at some community colleges and technical schools. People with demonstrated skills can join a professional organization, which can be beneficial for those who want to pursue professional careers in this field.