Members

Part 1. Indexing Whatchamacallits and Thingamajigs
How to Word Vague, Implied, and Elusive References

with Joan Shapiro on March 4, 2026

In this session Joan will discuss indexing textual discussions that are in some way incomplete. How do you handle references to concepts that aren’t explicitly stated? What do you index for titles of works or events that aren’t spelled out? What if a book title is discussed but its author isn’t mentioned; do you include the author’s name? We will talk about what to put in the index when important information literally cannot be found in the text.

Part 2. Beginnings and Endings
How to Make the Most of Introductions and Conclusions

with Gina Guilinger on March 11, 2026

Gina Guilinger explores the often-overlooked power of introductions and conclusions, sharing practical strategies for using these sections to strengthen and clarify the overall index. Learn best practices for indexing these sections of the book.

Part 3. Beyond the Book: Managing Supplemental Materials

with Devon Thomas March 18, 2026

You’ve worked your way through the main text, but what about all that other stuff? Appendices, glossaries, exercises, review questions, etc, are common, but advice and practice varies on indexing them. This presentation will explore the conundrums of dealing with ancillary materials.

Find more details and biographies of the three presenters at ASI.

ISC/SCI members: to receive the discount offered to us by ASI, log in and go to the Member Dashboard. You will find the discount code under Member Benefits.

Canada Revenue Agency: Tax information for self-employed individuals and small business owners
Tuesday, March 24, 2026
1:00 to 3:30 pm ET

Please join us for this session presented by the Canada Revenue Agency Liaison Officer service, just in time for tax season! This webinar is geared to self-employed individuals and small business owners, and will:

• help you better understand your tax obligations and possible deductions
• review requirements and processes for GST/HST
• explain how to avoid common tax errors
• answer your tax-related questions
• give you an overview of helpful online tools and electronic services offered by the CRA.

This session is open to all ISC/SCI members, and is relevant for members filing taxes in Canada. You can check the meeting start time in your time zone here: https://dateful.com/time-zone-converter.

Please log in to view the meeting link on the Event page.

Indexes with Character
Saturday, February 21, 2026
2:00 to 3:30 pm ET

For our first National Chat of 2026, we invite you to think back over indexes you’ve completed (or reviewed). Which index had the most character? And why? We’ll leave it up to you to define “character”! Please join us for this Zoom chat, open to all members of ISC/SCI. You can check the meeting start time in your time zone here: https://dateful.com/time-zone-converter.
Please log in to view the Zoom link on the Event page.

Submission deadline: Sunday, March 15, 2026

Submissions are open! The application has never been easier.

• It’s all online.
• You don’t need a hard copy — a PDF of the published book AND/OR the PDF sent to you by the publisher plus your Word/RTF file of the index.
• The cost is only $30.

The winner will receive two tickets to the conference banquet at the next in-person conference.

No restriction to the subject matter or genre — textbooks, cookbooks, guidebooks, memoirs, art books, how-to books, travel books, all books — it’s your index we will be looking at.

Show us how you creatively overcame challenges, resulting in an outstanding, well-structured, easy-to-navigate, clear and comprehensive guide for all of its users.

Give us a challenge. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Maybe you’ll get the prize (which won’t happen if you don’t apply).

This year you can submit indexes published in 2024 or 2025. If you are a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident of Canada, this is the time to do it. If you are not a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, you may submit an index if you were a member of ISC/SCI at the time you wrote the index.

The deadline for submissions is March 15, 2026. Please see the ISC/SCI website for guidelines, criteria, and the submission form: https://indexers.ca/ewart-daveluy-indexing-award/.

Saturday, January 24^th, 2026, @2:00-3:30 p.m. Eastern Time

Cookbooks are hands-on texts, requiring intelligent, user-friendly indexes. In our first talk of the year, Gillian Watts will share her indexing expertise with a focus on usability in cookbook indexes. Join us as Gillian takes us through examples from unsatisfactory indexes (befores), explaining why they don’t work well, and demonstrating how they can be improved (afters). In preparation for Gillian’s talk, we invite you to look at the indexes in your favourite cookbooks, and bring your comments and questions.

Gillian Watts is a freelance editor and indexer with more than 30 years’ experience in the field. Although well-known as a cookbook indexer (since 2002), she has also produced hundreds of back-of-the-book indexes in a wide variety of disciplines. She is a long-term volunteer with ISC/SCI and served on the executive for several years. 

Members: log in and check Upcoming Events for the Zoom details.