Reference sources are vital in indexing work to verify names. What are the most useful ones for our panel of expert indexers? Do they prefer hard copy or online reference sources?
Some of the reference sources named are out of print. It’s worth keeping an eye on indexer forums, as retiring indexers will often have copies to sell or give away. Check your local library, too, both for books and access to online reference sources.
Marian Aird, Advanced Professional Member
I tend to use books (Nancy Mulvaney’s Indexing Books and Pat Booth’s Indexing: The Manual of Good Practice) for indexing dilemmas. But I also go online to check references in the text, such as clarifications of names or titles, queries over dates or confirmation of changes of regional or country names. Wikipedia is very useful, although sometimes more specialist websites are necessary.
Christopher Phipps, Advanced Professional Member
Almost exclusively online now. The most frequently consulted are the online catalogues of major libraries (British Library, Library of Congress, Bibliotheque Nationale de France etc), the online Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. And (whisper it) Wikipedia.
Rob Gibson, Advanced Professional Member
A huge amount of googling goes on during the indexing process. Of the indexing books I own, by far the most used are Indexing Books by Nancy Mulvany and Indexing Names edited by Noeline Bridge. Also on names, my 1972 copy of ‘Names of persons: national usages for entry in catalogues’ published by the IFLA has been extremely useful on many occasions.
Christine Boylan, Advanced Professional Member
Wikipedia and a few online medical sites are my main tools. Much of my work is indexing current research so there are very few reference works available. I often look inside similar recent titles on Amazon and if the index is available, it can be useful for inspiration or when dealing with difficult entries. With a general indexing quandary, I still look back at my Society of Indexers training course materials and a couple of rather old indexing textbooks.
Rohan Bolton, Fellow
I index a lot of foreign personal names. By far the most useful book is Noeline Bridge’s Indexing Names, but this is unfortunately out of print. I believe the American Society of Indexing is planning to publish a reprint.
Useful online sources for personal names include the Library of Congress authorities and the Virtual International Authority File (VIAF), a combination of many national authority files. And The Indexer Centrepieces includes an excellent series on various foreign names and subjects
Helen Taylor, Advanced Professional Member
I google a lot of things for a quick answer, but I do like to use a proper hard copy dictionary. I have found The Indexer’s Centrepieces on how to index names from different languages and countries very useful.
Helen Bilton, Advanced Professional Member
Google. The most common reference query I have is to check a spelling of a name or an author’s initials. I try to rely on authoritative sources but if there is nothing else I go with Wikipedia. I use Encyclopedia Britannica and the Oxford English Dictionary through my local library online services too.
The next most common reference sources are the handbooks for software I use for which I use the online versions. The only times I use hard copy is to look up finer points of indexing practice, I have most of the main texts and some specialist ones such as Hazel Bell’s Indexing Biographies.
Sue Penny, Advanced Professional Member
New Hart’s Rules, The New Oxford Dictionary for Writers and Editors and Noeline Bridge’s Indexing Names are always beside my desk.
Online, Wikipedia is always open – useful for quick reference. For more detailed research, often using the Dictionary of National Biography, I use the National Library of Scotland’s online reference library. I’m a long-time user of Symbaloo – it allows me to organise bookmarked sites in a user-friendly way, and it’s easy to add to.
Nic Nicholas, Fellow
I have a selection of Oxford Reference books, use the online Oxford Dictionary of National Biography and the New Oxford Style Manual.
Occasionally I use the Virtual International Authority File (VIAF). Amazon is excellent for looking at other indexes and checking to see how things have been indexed.
Indexing books I have include Browne & Jermey’s The Indexing Companion, Facing the Text by Do Mi Stauber, and Indexing Biographies Bell).
Michelle Brumby, Advanced Professional Member
A combination of both. A leisurely leaf through a big, chunky dictionary makes me feel like a student again and so, as I do quite a bit of foreign language indexing, my hefty Collins bilingual dictionaries and Petit Robert get a fair amount of use. Alternatively, I’ll consult the online version of the Real Academia Española’s Diccionario de la lengua española.
When I’m up against it time-wise, Wikipedia is my go-to source to get a quick overview of an unfamiliar topic or to check a term, particularly the French and Spanish versions for translations (I just need to discipline myself not to stray too far down the rabbit hole…). My first port of call for checking names is Chambers Biographical Dictionary or for Spanish names, the Real Academia de la Historia’s Diccionario Biográfico electrónico (DB~e) database is really useful. Additionally, any queries I have about indexing itself are usually answered by a quick look in Pat Booth’s Indexing: the manual of good practice, which is always close at hand.
