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 stayed around to attend a Live Indexing workshop given by Stephen Ullstrom, winner of multiple indexing awards, and author of Book Indexing: A Step-By-Step Guide.

For many people, a visit to Newfoundland is a rare treat. To make sure the attendees would get the most from their trip, two pre-conference tours were organized. On June 7, a group took a Bird the Rock tour to the Witless Bay Ecological Reserve, home to more than four million breeding seabirds and North America’s largest colony of Atlantic Puffins. Then the next day, an even larger group took an Iceberg Quest tour through the St. John’s harbour out to Cape Spear, North America’s most eastern point.

Thank you to the conference committee headed by Alexandra Peace, with Lisa Fedorak, JoAnne Burek, Maura Blain Brown, Mercedes Brian, Maggie Billard, and Brittany Vesterback for your work in planning and organizing this successful event.

Thank you also to the Executive Committee of the ISC/SCI for setting aside conference scholarship funds for three new indexers.

Thank you, all of you wonderful businesses, for providing give-aways and door prizes.

  • Breakwater Books
  • Claire Wilkshire
  • Murray Premises Hotel
  • Riddle Fence magazine
  • Destination St. John’s

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 future conference committees. Look for a full conference report in the next issue of The Bulletin.

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:

  • Wednesday, June 7, 2023 Puffin-Palooza – A boat tour to the Witless Bay Ecological Reserve, home to more than four million breeding seabirds and North America’s largest colony of Atlantic Puffins.
  • Thursday, June 8, 2023 Iceberg Quest – Experience Cape Spear, Cabot Tower, and Fort Amherst from the sea, in an area that has the world’s largest concentration of humpback whales.
  • Thursday, June 8, 2023 Fireside Chat – A one hour session for new indexers. Bring your burning questions about transitioning from student to practicing indexer.
  • Friday, June 9, 2023 Awards Banquet – Meet and socialize with your colleagues and their guests, and celebrate the winners of the Ewart-Daveluy award for excellence in indexing and the Tamarack award for service to ISC/SCI.
  • Sunday, June 11, 2023 Live Indexing Workshop – Award-winning indexer Stephen Ullstrom will index a scholarly article he has not previously read, and discuss his process as he works.

Visit the conference page for more details.

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.

Photo credit: 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 a fishing room? “[It’s] a reference to the simple gable-roofed sheds (called ‘fishing rooms’) that were once so common at the waterline in Newfoundland fishing villages.”

And that’s why they named the building the ‘The Rooms”!

“This building, like the collections and exhibitions it houses, represents a tribute to our people and a place in which to preserve our history and culture for generations to come.”

Getting to The Rooms is a 15-minute walk (200 feet or 62 meters uphill) from our conference venue, the Murray Premises Hotel.

The conference takes place in St. John’s, Newfoundland June 9–10. Learn more about the conference at conference.indexers.ca. #IndexCanCon2023

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.

Murray Premises Hotel, St. John's NL

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 waterfront in the seafaring and fishery days. These buildings were constructed in 1846 to accommodate offices and warehouses.

The hotel has rooms radiating character through exposed 19th century wooden beams, contemporary furnishings and luxurious touches. Atmosphere is paired with a prime location: minutes’ walk from restaurants, quaint shops, Mile One Centre and St. John’s Convention Centre.

Special rates are available to conference attendees 5 days before and 5 days after the conference event. Visit the conference page for details.

Read more about the historic features of the Murray Premises and other nearby historic sites.

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.

Cabot Tower on Signal Hill by Shhewitt
Licensed under Creative Commons

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 ahead, you can purchase the opportunity to fire the noon day gun!

Signal Hill is 3.1 km from our conference venue at Murray Premises Hotel. For more information and directions to the visitor’s centre, visit the Signal Hill home page.

The conference in St. John’s takes place June 9 and 10, 2023. Visit the conference website.

#IndexCanCon2023