Most people understand that not everyone who “does genealogy” is a professional genealogist. Generally speaking, though, we agree that professional genealogists have expertise in methodology, research, and industry standards that go beyond the average family historian, have honed their craft with continuing education and practice, and follow accepted standards of quality and ethical behavior that may not even be on the radar someone outside the field.
“Crafting Family Histories,” Chapter 22 of Elizabeth Shown Mills’ highly respected Professional Genealogy text, includes a few pages on the importance of a good index in any family history narrative.[1] The author of the chapter, Michael Leclerc, states, “arguably, the biggest failure in published genealogies as a genre is the lack of an index.”[2] The next two pages explain some basics of indexes that aid the family history author to understand the types of indexes that may be applicable to a family history narrative. The Chicago Manual of Style dedicates a full chapter to index writing, which is the default standard accepted by many publishers in the United States today.
As a genealogist and professional indexer, I am as continually frustrated by the idea that “anyone can write an index” as I am by the idea that anyone can call themselves a professional genealogist without the training, practice, peer review, standards, and adherence to ethical behavior that we expect from a professional in any field. While there are many ways to develop these skills, the essentials are the same: indexing, like genealogy, is it’s own professional field with its own guidelines, professional and ethical standards, and acquired skills.
Indexing, at its core, is information management, which is why the vast majority of professional indexers today (it seems) began life as librarians. A well-crafted index organizes information in the text into the simplest, most direct link for a reader seeking specific information. Whether it is a list of names, subjects, locations, or some combination them all, indexes are separate texts that go from the mind of the reader directly to the text where that information is available. Indexes can make or break sales. A reader deciding whether or not your book has what they need will often check the index first. An unindexed work, or badly indexed work, will likely be ignored. Don’t believe me? Just think of how much we rely as genealogists on indexed databases to find information about our ancestors, or how frustrated we get (and how much time we lose) when we realize we have to search a collection page by page in the off chance we might find some direct or indirect mention to the ancestor we are searching for. That is the power of an index.
Indexes are more than keyword searches or, as we commonly see in genealogies, lists of names (though there is such a thing as a “name index.”) There is nothing more frustrating that an index that lists 60 separate page entries for “Smith, Michael” without differentiating which one may be the one you are interested in finding (in index lingo, we call that “undifferentiated locators.”) No reader wants to take the time to search through sixty separate entries on the chance one of them might mention the right one. A good index will help the reader find the information quickly, without undue searching, whether that is a specific individual, a place, or a concept.
The good news is that professional indexers do exist. They, like professional genealogists, have honed their craft, which usually includes specialized software that formats indexes exactly according to publishers guidelines, saving significant editorial time and effort. There is no software yet that will input a completed text and split out a (quality) index, though many programs have tried. It still requires a human brain capable of understanding that “hound dog” could be an index entry for “canine” or “Elvis Presley” and a reader could come to the text looking for any of the above. The American Society for Indexing is the indexing equivalent of the Association of Professional Genealogists, and contains its own locator of professional indexers, many of whom specialize in genealogies.
A word of warning: just as with professional genealogists, professional indexers don’t work for free and shouldn’t be expected to do so. Most indexers, like most genealogists, are self-employed individuals who provide a service and final product to authors or publishers. Indexing, like genealogy, is a time-consuming process. It involves reading every word of the text and simultaneously synthesizing the information into a coherent, organized structure, remembering when the term has been used previously (or, in some cases, exactly which term was used previously), and providing appropriate qualifiers and cross-references as the work progresses. An index is usually the last part of a published work completed, using final page numbers, which means most indexers work on tight deadlines and are frequently booked out months in advance. Their rate is usually determined by the density of the index, or how many terms per page, on average, make it into the index. Highly academic texts (or genealogies, which tend to be heavy on names and locations) can have a significantly higher number of per page entries, but on the other hand, names and locations are generally quicker to index than complex ideas. In other words, mileage may vary, and most professional indexers, after assessing a sample of the text in question, will provide options for the most cost-effective index that still allows them to make a living at their craft.
If you put the time and effort into writing a professional family history or other genealogical text, do yourself and your readers a favor and hire a professional indexer to make your work accessible to your readers. Focus on what you do best: writing an exceptional narrative. The quality index is icing on the cake, and your readers will thank you!
In the market? You can find a list of indexers who specialize in genealogies at the American Society for Indexing webpage.
[1] Michael Leclerc, CG, “Crafting Family Histories,” Professional Genealogy, Elizabeth Shown Mills (ed.), 533.
[2] Ibid.