How to Make an Index

by Henry B. Wheatley

The human mind is capable of interesting itself in almost anything it may undertake; but indexing cannot be other than hard work, and it is unfair to make it harder by fixing unnecessary limits. The worker is always happier at his work if he is allowed to do it in his own way.

The first thing to settle is as to the paper upon which the index is to be pasted. A very large-sized paper is inconvenient, and foolscap or quarto is the best for constant handling,—all the pages should be of exactly the same size. Sometimes it is necessary to have a small margin, but generally the width of the paper used for the index should be followed. There is no greater mistake than to study economy in the use of paper for pasting on. Some persons have facilities for the use of wastepaper that has been printed on on one side, and, not having been used, is in good order and of equal size. Some persons cut up newspapers, but this is a practice not to be recommended, not only on account of the print, but because the paper is generally so abominably bad and tearable. If the wastepaper referred to above is not within reach, it is well to buy a good printing-paper, which can be cut into the size required. There are, however, many cheap papers already machine-cut into the size required, which can easily be obtained.

Some with the love of saving strong upon them cut up newspapers into lengths of about four inches wide, and paste the slips upon these, with the result that all the ragged ends give continual trouble, and are apt to be torn away. Of all savings, this is the most ill-advised.

Although the "copy" is to be printed from at once, and will soon become useless, it is a great comfort to have material that is convenient to handle while it is required. Some thought may also be given to the compositor, whose life will be made a burden to him if you send him "copy" with all the ends loose. It is also well to keep the pages as flat as possible, so that a heap of these do not wobble about, but keep together smooth and tidy.

Sometimes it may be desirable to paste only on half the paper, so as to have room for additional entries. If this is done, the side must be altered periodically, or the pages will slip about and give endless trouble.

When the index is in course of arrangement the greatest care must be taken that none of the slips are lost, for such a loss is almost irreparable—first because you do not know when a slip goes astray; and even if you do know of your loss it is almost impossible to remedy it, as you have no clue to the place from which the slip came.

There will always be anxiety to the indexer while his work is being cut up and sorted. A breeze from a window when a door is opened may blow some of his slips away. Too many of the slips should not be allowed on the table at one time, and the indexer will feel the greatest comfort when he knows that his slips are safely reposing in their several envelopes. All queries should also be kept in envelopes, and each envelope should be inscribed with a proper description of its contents. When the slips are pasted down they are safe—that is if they have been affixed securely to the paper.

Having made these general observations, we may now proceed to consider how to paste. It seems a very simple matter, that requires no directions; but even here a few remarks may not be out of place.

When your paper is ready in a pile of about fifty pages, each page numbered in its proper sequence, you can proceed to work. For the purpose of laying down slips on uniform pages at one time, paste is the only satisfactory material. Gum will only be used by the inexperienced. It cannot be used satisfactorily on large surfaces, like paste, and when it oozes up between the slips it is stickier and does more damage in fixing the pages together than paste does. You might as well fix paperhangings on your walls with gum.

As to paste, if you have a long job on hand it is better to have it made at home, of a good consistency, but not too thick. It ought to run freely from the brush. A good cook will make good paste, but if you are specially particular you can make it yourself. If you require it to last for any time, you must add a little alum; but when you have a big index before you, you will use a bowl of paste in an evening, and there is therefore no question as to keeping.