Scholarly publications in Latin America: where, oh index, art thou?

Abstract

Scholarly publications in Latin America: where, oh index, art thou? Ruby Meraz Gutierrez The author describes the results of her investigations into the current state of back-of-the-book indexing in the publishing universe of Latin America, and provides a brief history of the practice. The investigation includes an effort to determine whether indexing is taught in Latin America. It also examines identifiable indexing standards in these countries, and the presence of indexing societies in Latin America. The article presents the results of a survey of 812 books from the Latin American collection of the University of California, Los Angeles in this context. Introduction During a session at the 2011 annual conference of the American Society for Indexing (ASI) on the indexing of Spanish names, questions were raised regarding the practice of book indexing in Latin America. The general assumption among the conference participants was that back-of-the- book (BOB) indexing in Latin America was not prevalent in scholarly publications or in general non-fiction works. This paper will examine whether this is the case, or whether the BOB index, known in Spanish as indice analitico, is indeed practiced in Latin America. For the purpose of this paper Latin America includes Mexico and countries in Central and South America. The article looks at: the function of indexing in scholarly communication the teaching of indexing in Latin America indexing standards, if any, followed in these countries indexing associations and societies, if any, in Latin America • a review of results from a survey of books covering Latin America held at the Charles E. Young Research Library at the University of California, Los Angeles. Function and value of indexing in scholarly communication The value of indexes An index, according to Wellisch, ‘must fulfill certain func- tions if the resulting index is to be a tool that will enable a user to retrieve or find a particular name, term, or passage in a text that the user has either read before or that is presumed to contain the desired information’ (1994: 620). Stevenson reinforces this argument, stating that the ‘purpose of an index is to enable the reader to access the content of a book and identify and locate information of interest without having to read the entire text. In essence it is a formidable labour-saving device’ (2011: 120–1). For Mulvany ‘The role of the index remains the same regardless of the book’s format. It is for the use and convenience of readers. A properly designed index will allow readers to locate specific information without the need to read the entire text in a linear fashion’ (2004: 77). Mulvany further states that: The readers of many non-fiction reference books have no intention of reading an entire tome from beginning to end. They need specific information, and their queries are framed in their own vocabulary. When the vocabulary of the author differs from that of the reader, the indexer steps in to bridge the gap. (Mulvany, 2004) Indexing as an intellectual endeavor While an index can be seen as a labor-saving tool, it is also an intellectual endeavor. According to Stevenson, it: is a creative art requiring high skill …. (A) well-structured index can be a powerful key to the content and structure of a book, but more significantly can provide insights into the meaning of the text and linkages within it that the author may not even have realized. (Stevenson, 2001: 121) This principle is shared by Booth, who states: Indexing is not a mechanical word-spotting process. It involves intellectual activity – understanding and analysis of texts and their messages, selection of significant references to relevant topics, assembly of references, chose of suitable vocabulary for the representation of topics, and presentation in an accessible format. (Booth, 2001: 3) An index, therefore, can be seen as an intellectual commu- nication device or tool, one that translates the content of the text into a form that bridges the gap for readers so they can find the particular information being sought. It also facilitates connections from one topic to another in the text. A table of contents (TOC) is a poor substitute for a well- written, comprehensive index. Is indexing taught in Latin America? Evidence from a literature review coupled with a web search indicates that indexing is indeed taught and written about in Latin America. In Mexico, for example, the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico offers a course in indexing in The Indexer Vol. 31 No. 1 March 2013