How to Make an Index

t About t

that no name hath escaped our enquiry: some few, perchance, hardly slipping by, may tell tales against us. This I profess, I have not, in the language of some modern quartermaster, wilfully burnt towns, and purposely omitted them; and h

nd it is therefore absurd to dictate to others how to set to work. If we employ any one to do a certain work, we are entitled to expect it to be well done; but we ought to allow the worker to

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

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 pur

ient description of blank books with the alphabet marked on the leave

the most convenient to use. The pages as written upon can be numbered, and this will relieve the mind of the indexer of fe

has the advantage that you can keep your index in alphabetical order as you go along, which is sometimes convenient

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 ran

er 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 head

the plan and the kind of index he is to produce; he w

obtain some knowledge of the book he is about to index before he sets to work.

ntil he can look down on the entire field of law before him, he cannot possibly judge of the

ses to escape from the repetition of the same fact in the same form, but these periphrases will give little information when inserted as headings

bsorbed in the work upon which he is working, he takes for granted much with which the consulter coming fresh

he volumes in Roman letters and the page in Arabic numerals. When, however, the volumes are numerous, the Roman letters become cumbersome, and mistakes are apt to occ

The references are very confusing and require a key. Thus, P stands for Preface; F for Life of the Lord Keeper; D, Life of Dudley; J, Life of Dr. John; R, Autobiography of Roger, and also Notes; R L, Letters from Lady North; R I, Letters from Roger North; and S, Supplementary.

ense the old index was printed to the new book. The difficulty was in part got over by giving the pages of the 1732 edition in the margin; but as may be imagined, it is a most troublesome business to find anything by this means. Moreover, the old index is not a good one, but thoroughly bad, with all the old misprints retained in the new edition. As a specime

d to increase in geometrical rather than in arithmetical progression. When the indexer comes to the last page of a great book he rejoices to have finished h

n, written upon, these will have to be cut up. There is little to be said about this, but it is worth giving the hint t

ed in the pages of an ordinary book to keep them distinct, and can then be sorted in perfect alphabet and pasted down. In the case of a large index it will be necessary to place the

the pasting is commenced, so that you may know that the order is correct, or make such alterations as are necessary before it

ems a simple matter which scarcely needs any pa

derable experience, gave some instruction for sorting

ical order, I venture to describe the system I have been accustomed to use.

E-

S

ole alphabet in separate letters, because if you brought A, for example, into its component parts and put them into alphabetical order, you might not impossibly find some A's among the later letters-one of the inevitable accidents of

nk it is a mistake to make two operations of the sorting

urn is a good one, and is likely to save th

forty-five degrees. Then, if the accumulation of titles should cause the heaps to slide, they wi

s easy to place the slips in their proper heaps without any thought. Mr. F. B. Perkins, of the Boston Publ

ve letters each, on which to put the titles at this first handling. The following arrangement of printers' dashes will show what I

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e United States. Special Re

down of the slips. This can be done in several ways, and the operator will doubtless choose that which suits him best. As already remarked, me

exing cannot be other than hard work, and it is unfair to make it harder by fixing unnecessa

ld 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 onl

inches wide, and paste the slips upon these, with the result that all the ragged ends give

e 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 t

have room for additional entries. If this is done, the side must be alte

such a loss is almost irreparable-first because you do not know when a slip goes astray; and even if you do kn

ot 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

sider how to paste. It seems a very simple matter, that requires

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 w

e 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

able, but it is not suitable for pasting down a long index. It is too dear, it is too thick, and it is too lumpy. If

u are about to paste, and then sort your slips in perfect order, ranging them in columns from right to left. The object of thus going backwards is to save you from passing over several columns as you take the slips off the table, and, instead, going straight on. You can push your batch of paper on as the various columns successively disap

s and press them towards the middle, the slip will be ready to be placed in its proper position, having taken up just sufficient paste. A still different plan is to paste the board or paper as in the previous case, and then place the face of the whole page on this. You then take it off, and, placing the dry side on the batch of paper, proceed to affix the

. This was the case with Mr. E. H. Malco

and write one entry only on each leaf. Having compiled my index thus from A to Z, I arrange my slips and manipulate them as I would a pack of cards, although shuffling only for the purpose of getting the arrangement of the letters right. Thus I save myself all the labour and trouble of pasting or laying down the slips in an

S., vi. 1

; but when it comes to sending the "copy" to the printer the case is different. Here there is more saf

dex agrees with other indexes in its proportion of letters, and

n made. Thus B is the largest letter in an index of proper names, but loses i

as possible. Those who refer to it do so with different views, for the objects of their inquiry must necessarily vary with their respective duties. It is therefore desirable that the index should be constructed with a view to provide for the wants of each person, so far, at least, as to enable him to obtain information in the most direct way; and it will be proper to insert in the index particulars some of which do not usually find a place in such a book. Let it be supposed that an individual signing his name 'J. Smith' inquires about the bonus, premium, or assignment, etc., of his policy, without stating either number, date, or amount. This is not an unusual case, a

gazine, vol. viii

e printed, the Christian names can be contracted if it is necessary to save space. The most important matter in the arrangement of an index is to avoid the confusion of two persons as one, and the possibility of making

is goes

of division appears to me to be that which is adopted by many offices-namely, to classify the surname under its first letter, and to subdivide

lowing consonants have most to be considered, and in initial consonants the following vowels. Mr. Curtis's calculations respecting the first letters of surnames are of much value. He used the commercial lists of the Post Office London Directory, and compared them with Liverpool, Hull, Manchester, Sheffield, Birmingham, and Bristol directories, and with three lists

d S., v

d S., i

se results in one

CLERGY LIST.

1 3·

9 11·

5 7·

3 4·

4 2·

6 3·

1 4·

6 9·

3·2 3

0 1·

7 4·

7 6·

0 1·

0 1·

9 6·

2 0·

6 4·

7 7·

0 4·

1·0 1

9 8·

0 0·

5 0·

1 0·

ably would be much larger in German names. H and W are also much smaller in French, while D and L are much larger.

there are no specially long headings; it also contains proper names as well as subjects. II. represents an index of subjects in Civil Engineering which contains a good number of large headings. III. represents the index to the Minutes of a public board, and also contains a considerable proportion of large headings. It will be seen that the numbers vary so considerably as to be of very little practical v

ound to be displaced from the pre-eminent positio

II.

67 2·

4 5·0

63 8·

8 4·5

3 6·9

5 3·3

4 3·5

4 3·1

4 2·7

7 0·1

4 0·0

8 4·9

1 5·8

7 0·1

4 1·3

1 6·7

2 0·9

8 12·

4 13·

0 5·7

0 0·0

9 0·6

1 7·4

3 0·0

2 0·0

7 0·0

--

100·0

ctions as to the kind of type to be used and the plan to be adopted, but it will be necessary to mark out those words that are not to be repeated and to insert lines indicating rep

. If possible, it should be kept to the end, so that you may look over it as a whole, and so see that the same subjects are not in more places than o

to set it out with clearness. It was not the practice in old indexes to bring the indexed word to the front, bu

e press. Lines of repetition are often a source of b

nd greater clearness is obtained by putting the general heading

add much to the clearness of an index, but some persons have a d

mself. One point, however, is of the greatest importance, and that is where a heading is continued over leaf it should be repeated with the a

he necessarily elaborate and complicated marks used in preparing for the press. It will therefore still be some time before the end is in sight, and probably the indexer will see ca