Many of the Society of Indexers’ members combine indexing with other work. In this post, professional indexer Sue Penny discusses combining indexing with librarianship.
My background
10 years ago, I was a full-time school librarian in a small school in a small community. Although I was the only library professional in the school, I was part of a big team comprising teachers, support staff, and students. But that changed when our council was forced to make financial savings and made the regrettable decision to axe all 11 of their secondary school librarians. When you love your job, and you’d always thought of it as a lifetime commitment, it’s hard to see redundancy as an opportunity, and it takes time to recentre your expectations. But I was lucky, my local bookshop offered me a part-time job when I asked for one, and this gave me the time and a little bit of stability to think about what I wanted to do. Relocation wasn’t an option, so I needed to find a new line of work, and began to think about the SI training course adverts that I’d seen in the pages of the CILIP magazine.
Why did I choose indexing?
At this stage I had many questions. Could I afford the course? How hard would it be? Would there be work if I actually complete the course? And was I cut out to be an indexer? I like the buzz of working with other people, discussing problems, bouncing ideas around and finding solutions. The prospect of self-directed study was daunting, and I wondered if I had the discipline to work entirely on my own. My fears were allayed when, soon after signing up for the first module of the course, I was invited along to meeting of the Scottish Indexers’ group. Long before the meeting adjourned to a café for lunch, I realised that far from being solitary loners, indexers are a friendly and supportive bunch. My experience from the start has been that, whatever their level of experience, SI members are always ready to share their knowledge. Having this professional support network is quite special, and invaluable to anyone starting a new career.
Indexing is absorbing, challenging and with the intrinsic reward of unpicking a knotty problem to find an ideal index solution. Despite my initial reservations about whether I could stay focused, I find it’s easy to get lost in a project and lose track of time. And after working in an environment driven by school bells and term dates, the freedom to plan your own time is liberating. Zoom has made possible regular online meetings with other SI members for CPD, training and conversation, so there is no risk of professional isolation.
Combining indexing with bookselling
My original plan had been to find a new full-time career, with bookselling as a temporary stop-gap, but although I reached a stage (more rapidly than I was expecting!) where I had sufficient work opportunities to index full-time, I have chosen to split my time, and I am still working part-time at the bookshop.
The couple of days a week that I spend bookselling provides the ideal antithesis to my work as an indexer. At the most basic level, Tackle & Books gets me away from my desk for a few days a week. I’m on my feet, it’s a change of scene (and with a stunning sea view from the window), and bookshop customers are seldom dull. I’ve met interesting (and sometimes professionally useful) people, especially as we’re also involved in running the local Tobermory Book Festival. Selecting stock acts as a form of current awareness for publishing trends, and unpacking a box of new books is one of life’s pleasures.
The downside can come on the days when I have a big indexing project on, or a tight deadline to meet, and would rather continue in the indexing zone than head back to the shop. But on balance, the change of occupation provides a helpful break, allowing me to temporarily step back and mentally digest whatever project I’m working on.
Bookselling brings extrinsic rewards – compliments from happy customers and wages from a happy boss, plus the sociability of working as part of a team. However, as a professional indexer, I know that should my circumstances or inclination change I can work for myself alone, should I need to.
About Sue Penny
Sue Penny qualified as an indexer in 2021 after a career as a school librarian. She is an Advanced Professional Member of the Society of Indexers, and indexes books in the arts and humanities. She works part-time at Tackle and Books bookshop in Tobermory, and helps to organise the Tobermory Book Festival.
The photo of Tackle and Books is by Sue Penny.
