Announcements

Indexing Society of Canada announces 2019 Tamarack Award recipient

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Toronto: The Indexing Society of Canada / Société canadienne d’indexation (ISC/SCI) is pleased to announce the 2019 recipient of the Tamarack Award. Stephen Ullstrom (Edmonton) is being recognized for his contribution and commitment to the society.

Stephen was chosen due to his dedication and valuable input on the executive committee, and for his commitment as the Prairies and Northern Canada regional representative for the past two years and to remain as a representative for additional time.

“We are thrilled to present this award to Stephen, and we are honoured to have him as a member of our society,” said Alexandra Peace, President and Margaret de Boer, Past-President. “Thank you, Stephen, for all you have given to the society and its membership.”

Stephen is also being commended for his strong vision for a mentorship program for the society and for bringing it to fruition.

“Stephen was the driving force behind the mentorship program,” said Pierre Joyal, Vice-President. “He was its initial sponsor, the originator of the concept and saw it to fruition. It would not have happened without his commitment and dedication, his work efforts and determination to seeing it through. We are grateful for the work he accomplished and congratulate him on a well-deserved award.”

The Tamarack Award was instituted to recognize members who go “above and beyond the call of duty” in their volunteer work for the Society. Past recipients can be found on the website here: https://indexers.ca/isc-awards/

The Indexing Society of Canada | Société canadienne d’indexation (ISC/SCI) is Canada’s professional society of indexers. Our mission is to encourage the production and use of indexes, promote the recognition of indexers, improve indexing techniques, and foster communication among individual indexers across Canada. Our vision is “Accessible information; informed people.” Learn more at indexers.ca.

Indexing Society of Canada announces new Executive for 2019–2021

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Toronto: The Indexing Society of Canada / Société canadienne d’indexation (ISC/SCI) is pleased to announce that, as of June 2019, the new President is Alexandra Peace and the new Vice-President is Pierre Joyal.

They will be holding these positions until June 2021.

For general information pertaining to the society, please contact either Alexandra or Pierre at presidents@indexers.ca.

For other communications needs, please contact Maria Hypponen at communications@indexers.ca.

The full Executive Committee list can be found on the ISC/SCI website here: https://indexers.ca/contact-us/executive/

Our mailing address is:

  • Indexing Society of Canada / Société canadienne d’indexation (ISC/SCI)
  • 133 Major Street
  • Toronto, ON  M5S 2K9

The Indexing Society of Canada | Société canadienne d’indexation (ISC/SCI) is Canada’s professional society of indexers. Our mission is to encourage the production and use of indexes, promote the recognition of indexers, improve indexing techniques, and foster communication among individual indexers across Canada. Our vision is “Accessible information; informed people.” Learn more at indexers.ca.

Another Successful Conference

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Our May 27-28 conference in Ottawa was attended by 66 people from across Canada and parts of the US. We met old friends and made new ones as we laughed, learned, and shared experiences and encouragement. You can find more photos in our conference album on Flickr.

Several speakers made their handouts available to our members.

Thank you to the conference committee headed by Heather Ebbs, with Alicia Peres, Barb Cuerden, Frances Curry, JoAnne Burek, and Nancy Wills, for all your work in planning and organizing this successful event.

Thank you, all you wonderful donors, for providing door prizes. Your contributions helped make the conference fun.

Beth Macfie
Clive Pyne
Heather Ebbs
Margaret de Boer
Ruth Pincoe

Thanks also to the Lord Elgin Hotel and the University of Ottawa residence.

Thank you, attendees, for your enthusiasm and participation. And an extra-big thank you if you filled out the conference survey. Your input and comments will be of enormous help to next year’s conference committee.

And speaking of next year’s conference, we’re headed to St. Johns, Newfoundland! The dates are June 12-13, 2020, so start thinking about your plans now.

DReam to Index Scholarships

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In 2018, the Friends of Dave established a fund to honor David K. Ream who passed away at the end of 2017. Dave, who was well known throughout the indexing communities of the world, provided computer-programming, database construction, and typesetting to indexers and abstractors for more than 30 years. Dave gave so much to the field of indexing and was especially interested in helping indexers succeed in their work. That is why we have chosen to honor him by recognizing new people coming to the field and helping them on their indexing journey.

The scholarships enable newer indexers to attend a national indexing conference. In 2019, each winner receives $500 USD toward the expense of her conference registration and travel.

We are pleased to announce the two winners for the 2019 DReam to Index Scholarships:

Siusan Moffat

AElfwine Mischler

Both Siusan and AElfwine took the UC Berkeley Course for introductory indexing training. They have registered to attend the Ottawa Conference of the Indexing Society of Canada (ISC).

Siusan lives in Toronto, Canada, and AElfwine lives in Cairo, Egypt.

We look forward to their ongoing growth as indexers!

In 2020, the DReam to Index scholarships will be offered again using the same criteria – for more information, about Dave Ream and the scholarships please see www.dreamtoindex.com.

Great Intentions

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In Cal Newport’s latest book, “Digital Minimalism”, he describes how the Amish use technology intentionally.

When a new technology arises, the whole community closely observes a first adopter and tries “to discern the ultimate impact of the technology on the things the community values most. If this impact is deemed more negative than helpful, the technology is prohibited. Otherwise, it’s allowed, but usually with caveats on its use that optimize its positives and minimize its negatives.”

Over thirty years ago, indexers were adopting a new technology when we switched from index cards to indexing software. No doubt at the time there were positives and negatives to be thought through.

Looking back now, and especially for indexers who started after the age of cards, it’s hard to imagine there were negatives.

But are we optimizing the positives?

Learn some new tips and habits at the ISC/SCI Conference in Ottawa May 24-25, when Gale Rhoades (Macrex) and Maria Sullivan (Cindex) give you their best advice to help you optimize your use of your indexing software.

Visit the conference page here.