ISC/SCI Diversity in Canadian Publishing Bursary for Indexers

About the Society

The Indexing Society of Canada (ISC/SCI) was established in 1977 to encourage production of quality indexes and use of professional indexers in various sectors of society including scholarly presses, trade books and (more recently) digital sources. ISC/SCI members work in a wide range of fields with a broad set of skills, including cataloguing, fact checking, glossary writing, HTML encoding, project management, teaching, thesaurus construction—and of course indexing.

What Is an Index?

About the Bursary

Since 2014, when the hashtag #WeNeedDiverseBooks appeared, the Canadian publishing industry has slowly been waking up to both the lack of diverse voices and the demand for them. Numerous studies have shown both of these facts to be true (see for example BNC Research, Demand for Diversity: A Survey of Canadian Readers).

This bursary is part of a special program to contribute to filling this proven gap by helping to achieve equality of opportunity for aspiring indexers belonging to underrepresented or marginalized groups.

The Inclusion Diversity and Equity (TIDE) committee organizes the bursary each year. You can read about their missions and goals here.

The bursary is granted to a person to cover fees for an approved indexing educational program, two years of ISC/SCI membership with listing, and entry into the Mary Newberry Mentorship program. Please scroll down for the application.

Approved Indexing Educational Program

For a list of indexing courses offered, see the ISC/SCI website, Education and Training section. TIDE has drawn up a course comparison chart to make choosing a course easier. Please email TIDE for the PDF: tide@indexers.ca

More Helpful Information About Indexing

Sylvia Coates, who developed the UC Berkeley Extension indexing course, created a free MOOC course that allows you to explore the indexing world without committing to an extensive amount of time. Indexing Books as a Career.

Professional indexer Stephen Ullstrom of ISC/SCI wrote Book Indexing: A Step-by-Step Guide that you might find helpful.

Recent Recipients

Who Can Apply

You must fulfill the following requirements:

Diversity

• Underrepresented/marginalized groups by ethnicity, colour, nationality, language, country of origin, etc.
• Indigenous Peoples
• People with disabilities
• LGBT2QIA+

Residency

Be a permanent resident of Canada or have significant residential ties within Canada. If you are a member or descendant of an Indigenous nation whose borders cross the colonial USA–Canada border, you are eligible to apply regardless of on which side of the border you reside.

Availability

Be ready within six months of bursary recipient announcement to enrol in an approved indexing program.

Equipment

Own or have unlimited access to a PC (Windows OS is highly recommended but not required) with Internet access sufficient to hold meetings by video conference.

You must demonstrate an expectation of success.

• Strong language, reading, computer and Internet skills
• An undergraduate degree or demonstrated equivalent (through other experiences and education)
• Other relevant skills, experiences, and interests, such as a love of reading, research, or list-making; a wide and diverse set of interests; or strong self-discipline

Expectations

We do not expect you to be an ambassador for any group or an educator of others. Recipients’ names and pictures may be used to publicize the bursary. Recipients are required to participate in a short debriefing at the end of each year of the ISC/SCI membership.

Application

The deadline for submissions is 30 September 2025.

If you have any questions or comments, please contact TIDE@indexers.ca.