Canada’s Professional Society of Indexers Since 1977

Have you ever indexed a scholarly book with views that you disagree with? It would have felt good to ignore the offending paragraphs or put quotes around the headings you dislike. But you did the right thing and treated the material with same unbiased analysis that you gave to the rest of the book. The author has the right to his views, and you have the duty to index them.

It might be a comfort to know that your index exposes content that could be re-examined by future scholarship. As historian David Bercuson said, “No serious scholar…should be saved from the age-old processes of historical review, revision and re-writing to reflect more recent research when it is more accurate.”

The scholars Bercuson was referring to are authors as well as museum staff, and the topic was the exhibit on the Combined Offensive of World War II at the Canadian War Museum.

After the new building opened in 2005, war veterans complained loudly about a panel text which they believed portrayed the Allied bombing of German cities as “terror bombing and akin to war crime.” The museum stood by its words. The fight escalated with both sides bringing in historians to weight in. When the conflict was over, the museum director had been forced out and the panel text was revised, almost by committee.

Four years later, Bercuson, who was pressed into consulting on the exhibit, wrote about his experience and his evaluation of the text. It’s a fascinating look at how historians work and think about scholarship.

The Canadian War Museum is both a history museum and a place for reflection and contemplation. You can visit the museum when you come to Ottawa for the ISC/SCI Conference May 24-25, 2019.

Mark your calendar for the ISC/SCI annual conference on May 24-25, 2019, in Ottawa, Ontario.

The conference theme,“Beyond the Page—New Platforms, New Realities”/«Au-delà de la page—nouvelles plateformes, nouvelles réalités» recognizes that the publishing and information world continues to bring new challenges and new opportunities. At this conference, we’ll fine-tune our indexing practices, grow our business skills, offer our support and encouragement to newcomers, and pick the brains of those who have experience.

Ottawa is more than the political centre of Canada. It’s also home to some of the nation’s most important cultural venues. (Our conference site, which is on the University of Ottawa campus in the city’s centre, is just across the street from the new Ottawa Art Gallery.)

To help you plan your travel, here’s the draft schedule of activities:

• Thursday, May 23: a late afternoon or evening pre-conference event
• Friday, May 24: Breakfast around 8, sessions from 9 until 5, followed by our banquet dinner
• Saturday, May 25: Breakfast around 8, sessions from 9 until 5, followed by a post-conference event
• Sunday, May 26: we’re leaving room for a possible workshop or other event

Watch the conference page for more details and announcement in the weeks to come.

Thanks to the wonderful donors and sponsors of our 2018 Conference in Winnipeg!

Their contributions of door prizes and equipment helped make the conference a success.

• Carol Saller Fisher and the University of Chicago Press
• Frances Curry
• Mary Newberry
• Friesens
• McNally Robinson Booksellers
• Fernwood Publishing
• Nan Badgett
• Frances Lennie at Indexing Research
• Gregory Younging
• Wolseley Wool
• Canadian Museum for Human Rights
• Unifor Local #4209
• Fort Garry Hotel