Book indexing conundrums

As book indexers, we have all been plagued by those ‘what do I do now?’ dilemmas. This paper considers 13 indexing conundrums that the author has encountered, setting the scene for each dilemma and providing a possible solution, but not necessarily the only acceptable solution.

Authors

Institutions

Publication Details

Journal
The Indexer
Published
2026-06-16
DOI
https://doi.org/10.3828/index.2026.17
Primary Topic
Publishing and Scholarly Communication
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00
Controls
|||
ALL TIME
JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
article

Book indexing conundrums

Max McMaster
The Indexer
Publishing and Scholarly Communication
article

Book indexing conundrums

Max McMaster
article en

Abstract

As book indexers, we have all been plagued by those ‘what do I do now?’ dilemmas. This paper considers 13 indexing conundrums that the author has encountered, setting the scene for each dilemma and providing a possible solution, but not necessarily the only acceptable solution.

The IndexerVol. 44(2)
Index Medical College, Hospital & Research Centre (IN)
Reduced inequalities
Openalex Percentile: Top 2%
Publishing and Scholarly Communication
AI Navigator

Ask Laika to Summarize, Analyze, and Connect papers live on the map.

Summarize Papers & Methodologies

Extract key findings, datasets, and comparative methods across publications.

Benchmark Rankings & Visual Analytics

Rank top research institutions, authors, funders, topics, and journals by Field-Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI) and paper volume with instant charts.

Connect Distant Disciplines

Bridge topological clusters on the map to find hidden collaborative intersections.