Members

A three-part course with Theresa Duran. Presented on October 11, 18, and 25, 2023.

Art books represent a thriving segment of the publishing industry. They encompass a variety of book categories—from coffee-table books to exhibition catalogues to academic or technical studies—and an even greater array of subjects. What art books all have in common is an abundance of illustrations. The indexer must understand the conventions pertaining to specific types of artworks and the expectations that clients might have about the indexing of images.

This three-part course offers a comprehensive guide to the glorious world of art books. It begins with an overview of the field, then dives straight into the thicket of artist names, art titles, captions, and illustration locators. It wraps up with practical tips and strategies for avoiding clashes with clients, troubleshooting common problems (particularly index length restrictions), and finding work. Each session is filled with examples from actual art books. Additional examples and resources are included in the handout.

The course is designed to benefit both novice indexers who are interested in breaking into the field and experienced indexers who would like to hone their skills and gain confidence in their approach. Some of the tactics covered can be applied to books in other disciplines.

Course Overview

Session 1
Art Books: The Big Picture

• My background in art publishing
• Types of art books and their challenges
• Types of art publishers and indexing clients
• Q&A

Session 2
Artworks, Artists, and Locators

• Common image organization schemes
• A to Z of art captions
• Illustration locators
• Treatment of art titles
• Treatment of artists
• Q&A

Session 3
Projects: Getting Started, Troubleshooting, Finding Work

• Questions to ask at the start of a project
• Managing length restrictions
• Setting rates and bidding on projects
• Getting established in the field
• Resources
• Q&A

Please note: Attendance at the live sessions is not required. Registration entitles you to “on demand” access to the course and unlimited repeat viewings after the initial sessions have aired.

About our Presenter
Theresa Duran, PhD, is a former staff editor at a publishing house that specialized in art books, calendars, and other products for museum gift shops. She left that position in 2005 to become a full-time freelancer, offering indexing, copyediting, and proofreading services. In the past few years, Theresa has come to focus on the indexing of art books. A resident of Marin County, California, she is the current president of the American Society for Indexing (2023–24).

For more information and to register: https://www.asindexing.org/online-learning/art-duran/. ISC/SCI members have access to a discount code for this course in the Member Dashboard.

We are excited to announce that the ISC/SCI Lending Library is now open!

As of today, May 1^st, our ISC/SCI website contains a page for the lending library. You may access it here.

On this page, you will find:

• a book list;
• the library policy;
• and the request form.

Please remember to take the time to review the policy before you submit your request form.

Don’t see a resource that you were hoping to? Email us. We can add it to the list of books we are looking to add to the collection.

Do you have books taking up shelf space that you think would provide great information to your fellow indexers? Email us. We would be grateful to talk you about a possible donation.

Due to cost and copyright laws, this membership benefit is only available to members who reside in Canada.

We are excited to launch this new program and we hope that you are too!

The ISC/SCI Library Committee

Congratulations to Jess Herdman, Jessica Dee Humphreys, and Wendy Savage of ISC/SCI, Anna Aridome of ISC/SCI and ASI, and Lara Abed of ASI on their win of the DReam to Index Scholarship.

From the DReam to Index team:

The winners will all receive a scholarship to attend indexing conferences. David K. Ream provided invaluable support to indexers, publishers, institutes and corporations, government offices, and the information industry at large. His significant accomplishments continue to have impact for all his clients and all who benefited from his skills and knowledge. He strongly supported the education of those entering the field of indexing and would be proud to know that these new indexers are benefiting from his legacy.