• finding an indexer – for your book, periodical, Web site, or other project
• how to join – and the benefits of being a member
• our publications – including the Bulletin and Register of Indexers Available
• conferences and events – from regional meetings to international gatherings
• resources for indexers – from books and training to online forums and special interest groups
• the Society – its history, organization, and activities at home and abroad
• and much more!

New! Magpie Pins for Sale At the ISC/SCI annual general meeting and conference in June 2009, Katherine Barber, founding editor-in-chief of the Canadian Oxford Dictionary department of Oxford University Press, gave a fascinating talk on the history of the word "magpie" and what it has to do with indexing. As a result, your executive took up a suggestion at that conference to consider creating a magpie pin. Our considerations were positive, and the pin is now available. About an inch in height, this handsome black and white pin is available to you for just $5. How to buy the pins You will be able to buy them at local meetings and the national AGM and conference, and you can also order them by mail. For the last, shipping costs will comprise the price of a small bubble-wrap envelope and whatever Canada Post charges to mail to your area of the world; for specifics, and to order, contact Heather Ebbs at hlebbs@gmail.com.

The magpie-indexing connection The English language is flavoured by the many cultures that have held sway in that country over the course of time: Celts, Saxons, Romans, Vikings, French, and that motley crew of people known as "English". The French tended to squish Latin words that came into the language by removing consonants. So the Latin "pica" (magpie) became "pia" in French and then "pie" in English. We added "mag" so that now we have "magpie" to refer to the bird that collects bits and pieces of this and that to take to its nest, much as indexers take pieces of the book and put them in their index nest. So indexers are like human magpies. The pie we eat is related, because pies began as a collection of many foods baked together in a crust. Reference books of feast days, themselves not unlike indexes, were also called "pies", possibly because the black ink on white pages was reminiscent of the bird's colouring. One last surprising connection between indexes and magpies. A type of geographical index is a gazetteer. The word is derived from "gazette", a 17th-century tabloid-style newspaper sold in Venice for a gazeta (penny), a word derived from gazza. You guessed it: gazza is Italian for magpie. Back to Top

Back to Top	Conference news
Three new indexing courses taught by Society members Three indexing courses are being taught by ISC/SCI members: Indexing: An Essential Art and Science (Simon Fraser University – taught by Karen Griffiths, former ISC/SCI British Columbia representative) Indexing: Theory and Application (University of California at Berkeley Extension – taught by Heather Ebbs, ISC/SCI past president) Indexing for Books, Journals, and Reports (Ryerson University – taught by Mary Newberry, current ISC/SCI co-president) These courses represent excellent opportunities to learn from experienced members of the Society. For more information on these and other indexing courses, seminars, and workshops, please go to the Education and Training section of the Resources page. Indexes and Indexing: An Overview for Editors and Publishers (July 11, 2010) Naomi Pauls, an ISC/SCI member, is teaching this one-day course at SFU this summer. Follow this link for more information and to register. Naomi Pauls wrote her first back-of-the-book index in 1998, soon after establishing a freelance editing business. She has since written about 40 more, for books from A (anthropology) to Z (zoology). She was a member of SFU's first master of publishing class. She is a long-standing member of both the Indexing Society of Canada and the Editors' Association of Canada. Naomi's contact info:   npauls@editors.ca   Ph: 604-685-2172 Back to Top
	Regional meetings Please visit our Conferences and Events page for more information.
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