Are you a publishing professional who needs to know more about book indexing? Join us for our #IndexDay workshops in London @publishersassoc.bsky.social on 31 March. Learn about indexing and technology, what makes a quality index, and try indexing for yourself. Book at

The full programme for our #IndexDay workshop for publishing professionals on 31 March @publishersassoc.bsky.social is out. Join experienced professional indexers to discuss a range of indexing topics. See the programme and book your place here - places are limited, so book soon!

Don’t call them “potholes,” call them “motor holes,” says @cyclinguk.bsky.social editorial in CTC Gazette, Feb 1917.

Top 10 blog posts of 2025: #4. A #Publisher's Conversation with #Authors: So, You Want to Add an #Index to Your #Book msipressblog.blogspot.com/2026/02/top-... #referencebooks #selfhelpbooks #indexing

He shouldn't have to ask. No brainer. This book needs an index. Less than a week for a professional. Will make it infinitely more useful.

Here’s my take on that Suffolk coin hoard, thanks to all the commenters here on BlueSky! spectator.com/article/why-...

Excellent point here - bad indexes disappoint readers and make them a bit cross.

Good thread about how readers use book indexes and why ctrl+f isn't at all the same. Thanks @hbflyte.bsky.social

A chance for @cilip.bsky.social members to have a chat with indexers at @indexers.bsky.social coffee morning this week. I get to talk about poo!

Opportunity for publishing professionals to learn more about indexing - #IndexDay

Looks fab, but no index :-( Take it from me, indexing excavation reports, even those underwater and with lots of finds, does not take long or cost an unreasonable amount. Ctrl+f is not the same, neither is a long table of contents.

Yes! I do! It can be a quick way to assess if the book will touch on a specific topic you need. Vital for those with restricted research reading time! However, many indexes are not as good as they should be

Indexing a book is also an art, involving deep understanding of the contents of the book and the likely interest of likely readers, yet unfortunately most indexes nowadays... for the last many decades, actually... are machine-generated crap.

Indexing is an underrated skill. It's what's in the book, keywords, but also what people will use to look up something, which may not be identical. And taking you to info, not merely a passing reference.

Some publishers really should know better than to outsource like this.

Paula Clarke Bain @baindex.org is Chair of Society of Indexers @indexers.bsky.social - this session will explore the commonalities of the fields of book indexing & library & information science + the shared purpose of helping people to find information in books & other media #MetaFutures #Conference

Despite the colossal amount of monetary, natural, human & political resources thrown at AI, it is still shit. AI writes like shit, evaluates and reasons on only the most superficial levels, and introduces errors. It is useless when it isn’t dangerous. It can’t even index a book.

Great that @livunipress.bsky.social have included @indexer.bsky.social (41, 1, 2023) as a free to read journal issue. Articles cover the joy of reading, indexing excellence, peer reviews, finding your first indexing job, book reviews and conference reports. Lots to enjoy! #IndexSky buff.ly/YiLKWzB

“Bowen and Watson's own writing is embarrassingly sloppy, too often mirroring the imprecision and nonsense of even the best AI models. Typos abound. Metaphors fall flat… Research is misrepresented and citations too often come off as afterthoughts. The AI-generated index is useless.”

To learn more about being a book indexer, see @indexers.bsky.social page www.indexers.org.uk/about-indexi..., have a go at the exercises linked there. Many come to indexing from librarianship and Jola is running this course. Other courses are available.

There is something very satisfying about starting research in the index of a book rather than a keyboard.

And the brass band festival is postponed due to the NT takeover www.facebook.com/share/17fk4n...

You don't have to be a librarian to become a book indexer.

A good read on the very niche world of brass band contests.

As well as being 'oddball' these projects show the abilities of some indexers to collaborate with authors and editors to get the job done.

It is always worth checking if you can get funding for book indexing or other production costs. Depending on the subject area there are funds available if you know who to ask.

While we are having a bit of a buzz about #DiggingForBritain don't forget that many projects end up in book form and those books need indexes. I love my job, I get to read the full reports before they are published and make indexes to guide readers through complex stuff.

Thanks to Paula you too can follow a bunch of book indexers and related organisations on Bluesky.

A 2026 reshare of my starter pack of freelance book indexers on Bluesky, including members of @indexers.bsky.social and other indexing societies. It’s opt-in/out by request, so just let me know if you wish to join or leave it. Good to see you all in the #IndexSky. go.bsky.app/GzqinPu

Available on YouTube here www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBC4... with thanks to @stephenullstrom.bsky.social

Well worth an hour. Thanks Mike.

Saw a stunning woman walking along Broad Street in Oxford. Only realised who she was when I recognised the man walking with her was David Bowie.

Doing that end of year tidy up thing for my blog abookindexer.com and SI Directory Entry www.indexers.org.uk/find-an-inde... I've done 33 indexing projects, just shy of 9000 pages.

They did - after a period of further review they said "it’s a really impressive and valuable piece of work.

Last Carol session of 2025. Merry Christmas. www.facebook.com/share/v/1Dne...

Like a detective, we join up information that may not be obviously connected to guide index users through a text.

Latest client feedback for an index - Thank you very much for this! A formidable and impressive piece of work. - I hope they mean formidable in a good way!

Super hand crafted index to a handwritten book @djbduncan.bsky.social

Appropriately, I particularly recommend the index of this book, which contains some special index jokes (make sure to look up the entry for "recursion")

www.facebook.com/share/r/1Jnq... out this morning in Stony Stratford doing carols and stuff.

Not a problem for a professional indexer. A couple of clicks and it is dealt with.

WHY AUTHORS DRINK Next book goes pre-order next week, so I'm finishing the indexing to finalize the page count. We realized my intro appears twice, so publisher deleted the extra text. Which changed the pagination by 2 pages. But not consistently, of course. Goodbye two weeks of indexing.

Not all authors like indexing their own books. @indexers.bsky.social has some advice here www.indexers.org.uk/about-indexi... with links to useful blogs if you need to do it.

The only advantage for video is that you can produce a quick tutorial faster than creating written documentation. We still have never produced something better for finding the info you need than a decent index in the back of a book.

The church bells of Walthamstow, St Mary's await rehanging, following restoration work in 1896. #ArchiveAdventCalendar #Bells @arascot.bsky.social

A peep into the world of indexing from some authors' points of view. Please do not ever do an automatic index in MS Word. @indexers.bsky.social has a page with links to some super resources to help if you are in this position. www.indexers.org.uk/about-indexi...

@djbduncan.bsky.social @baindex.org - winning them over one at a time.

Just pleased to be alive after being hit by a grown man riding a Lime Scooter on the pavement this morning. A glancing blow to the right arm, but it could have been curtains a split second earlier or for a lighter, frailer person. Yes I was coming out of the pharmacy, where lots of older people go.

Jesus Christ is always at the centre of Christmas. And everyone's invited to experience it with us. Come and celebrate Christmas at a church near you. Find services and events in your local community at AChurchNearYou.com/christmas.