Past Conferences

Reserved for documenting past conferences.

Conference 2024 :: Congrès 2024 – Virtual

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Virtual Conference

The Art of Connection

Friday, May 31 – Saturday, June 1, 2024

If there’s anything we’ve learned from our virtual conferences, it’s that indexers love to get together and chat. That’s why we’ve chosen “The Art of Connection” as our conference theme.

Over the two days, we will have plenty of opportunity to visit with old friends, make new friends, and learn new tricks and strategies to boost our practice and our business.

Preceding the conference, on Thursday, May 30, we will have two events. The “Networking for New Indexers” session is for new and aspiring indexers to connect with experienced indexers. Starting concurrently with this event, there will be demonstrations of indexing software.

Each day ends with an after-party. And to dial up the fun, we invite you to join in on a new creative challenge, the Virtual Stitching Circle.

If you can’t attend all the sessions offered on Friday and Saturday, don’t worry. Recordings of the presentations will be available for twelve months after the end of the conference.

Conference Program

Friday, May 31

Pierke Bosschieter, Software Miscellany or Connecting Better with your PC or Mac

10:30 a.m. EDT

Most of us use indexing software, MS Word, and maybe a task manager or bookkeeping program. But does it have to end there? Pierke will take us through the possibilities that can make the non-indexing part of your business more productive.

Enid Zafran and Stephen Ullstrom, A Worthwhile Pursuit? Embedded Indexing Today and in the Future

11:30 a.m. EDT

Embedded indexing is here to stay, but are indexers embracing it? Enid Zafran and Stephen Ullstrom surveyed a range of active indexers to assess the current state of the practice. In this presentation, they will present their findings and their views of where embedded indexing is going.

Iva Cheung, Connections Between Qualitative Research and Indexing

2:00 p.m. EDT

Iva has observed that a qualitative research method called “thematic analysis” has striking similarities to indexing. Iva will give an overview of the overlap of qualitative research and indexing and demonstrate the software techniques that researchers use to track themes. This presentation is sure to give you some fresh insights into your indexing approach.

Carol Fellowes, Movement

12:30 p.m. EDT, second session on Saturday at 12:30 p.m.

Carol will give a demonstration of YogEvolve, a movement practice that helps its practitioners find mobility, strength, and balance in their ever-changing, unique bodies. There will be special emphasis on joint mobility, something we all crave.

JoAnne Burek and Alexandra Peace, Connecting from Afar: How to Travel Joyfully While Running a Thriving Indexing Business

4:00 p.m. EDT

Do you dream of travelling to new places, but you worry about taking time away from work? Alex and JoAnne each have years of experience combining work and travel, and will share their best tips and strategies. After this session, you’ll be equipped to research, plan, and execute a rewarding and fulfilling trip while still earning your freelance income.

Saturday, June 1

Larry D. Sweazy, I Want to Be an Indexer When I Grow Up

10:30 a.m. EDT

Our keynote speaker, Larry D. Sweazy, is the multiple award-winning author of 20 books of mysteries, short stories, and Westerns. Larry reflects on his long indexing career – 1,050 books and counting. “If I can do it, so you can you,” he says. For a taste of Larry’s story-telling, checkout his Marjorie Trumaine series. It’s about an indexer and farm wife in 1960’s North Dakota who gets caught up in and solves murders.

Enid Zafran, Authors Amok! Indexing Multi-Authored Texts

11:30 a.m. EDT

This session looks at the challenge of indexing texts where each chapter has a different author. Enid will provide examples of issues and solutions that will save you time and headaches when you tackle one of these books. Special attention given to the technical issues (vocabulary control, name problems, etc.) as well as strategies for working efficiently.

Iva Cheung, Advocating for Indexing: A Guided Discussion

3:00 p.m. EDT

What can we do to advocate for indexers and for indexing as a profession? What strategies can we use as a group to improve our tools and working conditions? This presentation looks how indexers have contributed their experience and perspectives to advocating for indexing and ends with a guided discussion about what we can do to build on that work.    

View Conference Program

Networking for New Indexers

This 90 minute session on Thursday, May 30, is a conference extra ($10). New indexers can visit chat rooms of their choice to ask their burning questions about transitioning from student to practising indexer. Move from room to room to meet experienced indexers and get a variety of perspectives.

Software Demonstrations

Concurrently with Thursday’s Networking for New Indexers, registrants are invited to attend the indexing software demonstrations. You may discover some new tips and tricks.

Pricing and Registration

Payment of conference fees gives you access to recordings for one year. All prices are in Canadian dollars.

Members
(includes partner
organizations)		Non-membersStudentsMember
Institutions		Networking for New Indexers (optional)
Early Bird$100$140$40$150$10
After April 30$130$140$40$150$10

Conference Blog

ISC/SCI Conference 2024 Is This Week!!

Register or log in on the conference website: https://conference.indexers.ca/ Make and renew connections, develop skills, and grow your indexing business from your office at the ISC/SCI Conference 2024 The Art of Connection, starting THIS Thursday, May 31st, to Saturday June 1, 2024. See you soon! #IndexCanCon2024

ISC/SCI Conference 2024: Registration Is Open!

Make and renew connections, develop skills, and grow your indexing business from your office at the ISC/SCI Conference 2024 The Art of Connection on May 31 to June 1, 2024. But don’t wait too long! Register now on the Conference page! #IndexCanCon2024

ISC/SCI Conference 2024: The Art of Connection

Save the date! Registration will be opening soon for the online ISC/SCI conference The Art of Connection on May 31 to June 1, 2024. You provide the snacks and we’ll provide the chance to make and renew connections, to develop skills, and grow your indexing business. Together. Come to Conference 2024 from your office! Check … […]

Conference 2024: Call for proposals

The Conference Committee invites your proposals for ISC/SCI Conference 2024. Proposals are being accepted until October 31, 2023. This is an online conference taking place on Friday, May 31 and Saturday, June 1, 2024. Sessions will be 50 minutes in total (35–40 minutes for presentation followed by a 10–15 minute question-and-answer session). The committee is seeking proposals in the following areas: … […]

Conference 2023 :: Congrès 2023 – St. John’s, NL

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St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador
June 9-10, 2023

Murray Premises Hotel
5 Beck’s Cove, St. John’s, NL

Picture this: Steep streets lined with rows of art-inspiring brightly coloured maritime houses…a historic harbour…a world-class university…whales to watch…and other incredible things to do and see.

And in between all of that, the chance to boost your indexing skills, hone your business practices, and meet and reconnect with fellow indexers.

The Conference Venue

The conference will be held in the Murray Premises Hotel, situated in a National Historic Site on the St. John’s harbour front. Featuring nineteenth-century exposed masonry walls and wood beams, the hotel oozes charm. More about the venue.

Accommodations at the Murray Premises

The Murray Premises Hotel is offering special rates for conference attendees during the conference as well as 5 days before and 5 days after. The room rates before taxes:

  • $179.00 – Traditional Queen Guest Rooms
  • $189.00 – Traditional King Guest Rooms
  • $199.00 – Signature King Guest Rooms
  • $209.00 – Executive (Jacuzzi) Rooms

The room taxes are Tourism Marketing Levy (Room Tax) 4% and Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) 15%.

For reservations, email info@murraypremiseshotel.com or call reservations at 1-709-738-7773 and quote the group block code (you will receive the code when you register).

Conference Program June 9 – 10

This is shaping up to be an exciting conference, with knowledgeable speakers and topics designed to help you grow your business. From live demonstrations to software explanations and a health session that focuses on one of our most important assets—our eyes—we promise you’ll go home enriched and renewed.

Five sessions on Friday June 9 will be followed by the Annual General Meeting at the end of the afternoon and then the Awards Banquet. Six speakers will be featured on Saturday June 10.

Friday, June 9

  • A Large Press’s View of Indexing. Phil Getz, Senior Editor at Palgrave Macmillan will give us the behind-the-scenes view of their operations.
  • A Musical Interlude. Paula Clarke Bain will discuss the art of indexing music, from scholarly works on classical music through to modern pop/rock trade biographies and memoirs.
  • You Had to Be There: Two Experienced Indexers Remember the Indexing Society of Canada Over the Years. The ISC/SCI has been serving the needs of Canadian indexers since the 1970s. Newer indexer Mercedes Brian will interview long-time members Ruth Pincoe and Gillian Watt about the Society, its history, their personal contributions to its development, and the benefits of belonging to a professional association.
  • Content Management with Auto-Tagging, Glenda Browne will show us how to use Mondeca to manage  thesaurus, ontology, and auto-tagging.
  • Book Indexing: A Step-By-Step Guide, the writing of.Stephen Ullstrom shares his experience writing his soon-to-be-published (2023) book on indexing.
  • Annual General Meeting
  • Awards Banquet

Saturday, June 10

  • The Tamil Epic and Linked Indexes: A Study, Ronnie Seagren presents her experience with a straightforward indexing project that grew into a two-year saga. This project has implications for embedded indexes, e-book indexes, scoping a project, and more.
  • Running Your Business: Let Software Help. Pierke Bosschieter. shows us ways to improve your efficiency and your enjoyment of indexing using non-indexing software and devices.
  • Caring for Your Eyes. A guest presentation by Noubar Kara-Yakoubian (BSc, OD), from the Newfoundland And Labrador Association of Optometrists.
  • Project Management with MS Office: How to Keep Up with Your Workload,Sergey Lobachev shows us how to manage your workload so that you can retain more clients without losing your sanity.
  • William Lost-His-Pants and More Fun with Medieval Names. While the treatment of names and titles for nobility has been well covered in indexing manuals and handbooks, the by-names used in medieval Europe can pose special challenges. Jolanta Kormonicka will discuss medieval naming conventions, inverting names, and glossing of names.
  • Tips of the Trade, Mary Newberry. Tips and tricks for your indexing practice, featuring highlights from Mary’s own experiences, including what to do with the metatopic; how to sneak sub-sub entries into run-in formats; how to know what to index and how to point to ideas that are not directly indexed.

Download conference program.

Live Indexing Workshop, Sunday June 11

Award-winning indexer Stephen Ullstrom will index a scholarly article he has not previously read, and discuss his process as he works. This three-hour workshop is offered in addition to the conference program. The workshop runs from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m.

Fireside Chat for New Indexers, Thursday June 8

This one hour session is a conference extra that takes place Thursday afternoon with Mary Newberry. New indexers are invited to ask their burning questions on transitioning from student to practising indexer. Collect your snack at 4 p.m. and bring it to the room for a 4:30 start time.

Iceberg Quest Boat Tour, Thursday June 8 – Full

Our Thursday icebreaker event involves real icebergs…and maybe whales and puffins too! Join us for a two-hour boat tour with Iceberg Quest from the St. John’s harbour. We’ll experience Cape Spear, Cabot Tower, and Fort Amherst from the sea, in an area that has the world’s largest concentration of humpback whales. The tour is from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. and it’s fully narrated.

Puffin-Palooza Ecological Reserve Tour, Wednesday June 7

Our pre-conference event takes you on one of the most spectacular sights in nature. Leaving historic St. John’s, we make our way south along the coast to the historic Irish community of Bay Bulls and a boat tour of the Witless Bay Ecological Reserve. This group of four islands is home to more than four million breeding seabirds and North America’s largest colony of Atlantic Puffin. The sheer number of birds is mind-boggling. Icebergs are possible this time of year, and if any are nearby we will certainly take time to enjoy it.

* Lunch is not included on this tour, so make sure to eat beforehand. A canteen with snacks & beverages is available on the boat, but packing snacks is also encouraged.

Pricing and Registration

Early BirdAfter April 30
Members and Affiliates$300$340
—-Friday or Saturday only$160$180
Non-members$350$390
—-Friday or Saturday only$180$200
Students$160$160
—-Friday or Saturday only$90$90
Fireside Chat on Thursday$10$10
Workshop with Stephen Ullstrom on Sunday$45$45
Awards Banquet on Friday evening$65$65
Iceberg Quest Boat Tour Thursday$99
Puffin-Palooza Boat Tour Wednesday$172.50

Prices are in Canadian Dollars, all applicable taxes are included

Conference Scholarships for ISC/SCI Members

Applications closed. Thank you to everyone who applied.

Conference Sponsors

to come

Conference Blog

Conference Success in St. John’s, NL

Our June 9-10 conference in St. John’s was attended by 40 people from across Canada and US, England, Switzerland, and Australia. 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. On Sunday, June 11, many attendees … […]

Early Bird Conference Pricing Ends Sunday

Time is running out if you want to save on your registration for the ISC/SCI conference in St. John’s, Newfoundland. Register by Sunday, April 30 to receive the Early Bird discount on your conference registration. Register today for the June 9-10 Conference as well as any of these optional events: Visit the conference page for … […]

Registration Now Open for ISC/SCI Conference 2023 in Newfoundland

The Indexing Society of Canada/Société canadienne d’indexation invites you to join us at our annual conference on June 9 and 10, 2023, at the Murray Premises Hotel in St. John’s, Newfoundland. This year’s conference theme is “See also Newfoundland.” Special sessions include the following: Sessions on indexing practices include improving your efficiency (Pierke Bosschieter) and … […]

Things to do in St. John’s: Where to start

Make and renew connections. Meet indexers from all over the world. And explore Newfoundland. A great way to start planning your activities is to order a copy of the 2023 Traveller’s Guide and map. The guide is offered in English and French. And it’s free. Order the guide.

Things to do in St. John’s: The Rooms

Come and ask your indexing questions at the ISC/SCI Annual Conference 2023 … and check out The Rooms. The Rooms is Newfoundland and Labrador’s largest public cultural space—full of history, heritage, and art. As their website explains: “The Rooms’ unique design mirrors the fishing rooms where families came together to process their catch.” What is … […]

Conference 2023: The Venue

ISC/SCI is pleased to announce that Conference 2023 will be held at the Murray Premises Hotel in St. John’s, Newfoundland. The hotel is located in the Murray Premises National Historic Site on the St. John’s waterfront. The site, which comprises three buildings, is typical of the type of commercial buildings that used to line the … […]

Things to do in St. John’s: Signal Hill

Are you coming to St. John’s, Newfoundland for the ISC/SCI conference in June? Make sure you allow extra time on the “rock” to visit the sights. Beyond the visitor’s centre, there are trails ranging from easy to strenuous where you can enjoy the views of the harbour and rugged coastal landscape. And if you book … […]

Conference Scholarship

ISC/SCI is offering scholarships to three ISC/SCI members to help them attend the conference in St. John’s, Newfoundland, in June 2023. The scholarship will pay the two-day early-bird conference fee. You are eligible to apply if you meet both of these conditions: Preference will be given to new indexers, then those who have never attended … […]

ISC/SCI Conference 2023. See also Newfoundland

Save the Date! June 9–10, 2023 Get your calendar out and mark the dates June 9 and 10, 2023, for the ISC/SCI’s annual conference (some pre- and post-conference events are also in the works, so you’ll want to consider saving some extra days too). The program team is pulling together great speakers and invaluable content—you’ll … […]

Read the announcements and discover things to do in St. John’s (link takes you to indexers.ca).

Conference 2021 :: Congrès 2021 – Virtual

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This conference will give you a variety of topics to help you improve your indexing practice and make your business thrive, including:

  • Creating an award-winning index, from a panel of Ewart-Daveluy award winners
  • Editing your index to take it to the next level
  • Building client relationships
  • Quoting on projects
  • The new NISO standard for indexes (NISO is the National Information Standards Organization)
  • And more

As well, we will have

  • Keynote speaker Raegan Swanson from The ArQuives (The Canadian Lesbian + Gay Archives)
  • Jenny Higgins, former Wikipedian-in-Residence at Memorial University in Newfoundland
  • Announcement of the winner of the Ewart-Daveluy Award for Indexing Excellence

Each day there will be lots of fun activities to help you meet your fellow indexers.

View Conference Program

Special for New Indexers

New indexers can register for the Fireside Chat hosted by Stephen Ullstrom and Margaret DeBoer. This group session is your opportunity to ask your burning questions on transitioning from student to practicing indexer.

Can’t make the whole conference?

Sessions will be recorded and made available to all registered attendees.

Speakers

Raegan Swanson

Queering Archival Spaces and Description: LGBTQ2+ Community history and language at The ArQuives

Jenny Higgins

Something Wikid This Way Comes …
to the Centre for Newfoundland Studies

Mary Coe

In my mind’s eye, I’m turning
the page”
How do readers make sense of active e-book indexes?”

Kate Mertes

The Autobiography of an Indexing Relationship

Max McMaster

Quoting on Projects

Christine Jacobs

The Polished Index: Upping your Indexing Game

Pierke Bosschieter

Pre-emptive Preliminaries
or
How to build a satisfying client relationship

Judi Gibbs

Pilar Wyman

Indexing Standards. See NISO

Mary Coe

Bec Muir

The Spark is Curiosity: Becoming Practitioner-Researchers

Judy Dunlop

Mary Newberry

Audrey McClellan

Carla DeSantis

Anna Olivier

François Trahan

The Road to the Ewart-Daveluy Award

Optional Program for New Indexers

Stephen Ullstrom

Margaret De Boer

Fireside Chat

Conference Registration

Payment of conference fees gives you access to three days of workshops and events, plus access to all the recorded sessions for 12 months.

MembersNon-MembersStudentsFireside Chat
(optional)
Early Bird$60$100$35$10
After April 30$75$100$25$10

Conference Blog

Early Bird Conference Pricing Ends Soon

Time is running out if you want to register for the ISC/SCI conference and save. Register by Friday, April 30 to receive Early Bird pricing. To start making your plans in your time zone for the May 27 – 29 sessions, view and download the conference schedule (Pacific Time is UTC-7, Eastern Time is UTC-4).

Conference Registration Now Open

Registration for the ISC/SCI Annual Conference is now open. Take advantage of these early bird rates for the three-day virtual conference: Members (including ASI, ANSZI, SI, all other affiliates and Editors Canada): $60 Non-members: $100 Special rate for eligible full-time students: $35 Optional Fireside Chat for new indexers: $10 All prices are in Canadian Dollars. … […]

Save the Date for the ISC Virtual Conference May 27- 29, 2021

The ISC/SCI is thrilled to announce that our next annual conference is taking place from the comfort of your home from May 27 to 29, 2021. The theme is “Indexing Unlimited”. The conference sessions will cover a variety of topics to help you improve your indexing practice and make your business thrive. One new feature … […]

Conference 2021 :: Congrès 2021 – Virtual

This conference will give you a variety of topics to help you improve your indexing practice and make your business thrive, including: As well, we will have Each day there will be lots of fun activities to help you meet your fellow indexers. Special for New Indexers New indexers can register for the Fireside Chat … […]

2020 Conference Cancelled

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Given the World Health Organization’s announcement of a pandemic, we have determined to move forward with an abundance of caution. ISC/SCI is cancelling this year’s conference.

We have no plans to hold any online presentations, but intend to hold the conference next year in St. John’s, Newfoundland. Planning for next year’s conference—which we hope to be similar to what we had planned for this year—will start again in September, 2020.

If you registered for the conference, your fees will be refunded to you over the next week. If you do not receive a notice about your refund by March 25, please contact treasurer@indexers.ca.

We are sad and disappointed to announce this, but hope that everyone stays safe and well and comes to see us next year in Newfoundland!