How to Make an Index

by Henry B. Wheatley

Still, I have found that those who are unaccustomed to index work are anxious to be informed how to proceed. The following notes are therefore only intended as hints for the use of those who wish for them, and need not be acted upon if the reader has a plan that he finds better suited for his purpose. Two essentially different kinds of index must be considered first: (1) There is the index which is always growing; and (2) there is the index that is made at one time, and is printed immediately it is ready for the press. The same course of procedure will not be suitable for both these classes.

1. Indexes to commonplace books belong to this category. It has been usual here to leave a few pages blank for the index, and to arrange the entries in strict alphabetical order under the first letters and then under the first vowel following a consonant, or the second, when the initial is a vowel. This is highly inconvenient and confusing, especially when words without a second vowel, as Ash and Epps, are placed at the head of each letter, Ash coming before Adam and Abel, and Epps before Ebenezer. It is better to spare a few more pages for the index, and plan the alphabet out so that the entries may come in their correct alphabetical order. Unfortunately the blank index is usually set out according to this absurd vowel system. Commonplace books are now, however, very much out of fashion. A better system of note-keeping is to use paper of a uniform size, to write each distinct note on a separate sheet of paper, and to fasten the slips of paper together by means of clips. If this plan is adopted, the notes are much more easily consulted, and they can be rearranged as often as is necessary. Now the index can be made on cards, or a special alphabeticised [19] book can be set aside for the purpose. Cards of a uniform size, kept in trays or boxes, are very convenient for the purpose of making an ever-growing index. You can make a general index in one alphabet, and when you have any special subject on hand, you can choose out the particular cards connected with that subject, and arrange them in a distinct alphabet. When the distinct alphabet is no longer required, the cards can be rearranged in the general alphabet. Cards are unquestionably the most convenient for an index that is ever changing in volume and in form. Rearrangement can be made without the trouble of re-writing the entries.

[ [19] Some may consider this a monstrous word; but it conveys a convenient description of blank books with the alphabet marked on the leaves of the book either cut in or with tablets projecting from the margin.

2. For an index which is made straight off at one time, and sent to the printer when finished, foolscap paper is probably the most convenient to use. The pages as written upon can be numbered, and this will relieve the mind of the indexer of fear that any of these should be lost. The numbering will serve till the time comes for the index to be cut up and arranged.

Some indexers use separate slips of a uniform size, or cards, with a single entry on each slip. Although this plan has the advantage that you can keep your index in alphabetical order as you go along, which is sometimes convenient for reference, it is, on the whole, a cumbersome one for an index, although it is almost essential for a catalogue.

In the present day when paper is so cheap, it is well to use fresh sheets all of the same size—either quarto post or foolscap. Some persons are so absurdly economical as to use the blank sides of used paper, such as envelopes, etc., so that their manuscript is of all sizes and will never range. It is necessary to warn such persons that they lose more time by the inconvenient form of their paper than they gain by not buying new material.

In general practice the most convenient plan is to make your index straight on, using the paper you have chosen. Another plan is to use a portfolio of parchment with an alphabet cut on the leaves, and with guards to receive several leaves of foolscap under each letter. Thus every entry can be written at once in first letters. Where there are many large headings this is very convenient, and time is saved by entering the various references on the same folio without the constant repetition of the same heading. Possibly the most convenient method is to unite the two plans. Those references which we know to belong to large headings can be entered on the folios in the alphabetical guard-book, and the rest can be written straight through on the separate leaves.

Before commencing his work, the indexer must think out the plan and the kind of index he is to produce; he will then consider how he is to draw out the references.

Whatever system is adopted, it is well to bear in mind that the indexer should obtain some knowledge of the book he is about to index before he sets to work. The following remarks by Lord Thring may be applied to other subjects than law:

"A complete knowledge of the whole law is required before he begins to make the index, for until he can look down on the entire field of law before him, he cannot possibly judge of the proper arrangement of the headings or of the relative importance of the various provisions."