American Society for Indexing (ASI)
On ASI, Its SIGs & Chapters, and the Hats I Wear
The American Society for Indexing (ASI) is the U.S. society — though there are a number of international members — devoted to the promotion and professionalism of the book indexing profession. A brief history of ASI & timeline of past presidents can be found on their website.
ASI provides opportunities for professional development through webinars and 3-part courses, as well as annual conferences and other special events.
Another of the many benefits of being an ASI member is the opportunity to meet other indexers, through email listservs and coordinated events, as well as through regional Chapters or topical Special Interest Groups.
ASI also has a public-facing directory, the Indexer Locator, which helps potential clients identify indexers that could be a good match for their project.1
I first joined ASI in 2016, after having indexed books part-time for three years, when I received a particularly challenging project and I realized that I needed more tools than my one course during library school and Chicago Manual of Style guidelines could provide. ASI’s educational materials and indexer connections helped me tremendously during that first challenging project and have continued to benefit my indexing expertise since then.
I have also been fortunate to have had the opportunity, in more recent years, to lead the History/Archaeology Special Interest Group (HA SIG) and the Southeast Chapter. Recently, I was also elected ASI Board Secretary (2026-2029).
Special Interest Groups (SIGs)
ASI members can join or renew their individual SIG membership at any time through the online store. Find more information, here: SIG Information
There are SIGs for many indexing specialties and interests, including
Periodical/Database2
As SIGs are added and information is updated, the ASI website will reflect those changes.
History/Archaeology Special Interest Group (HA SIG)
HA SIG membership benefits include being listed in the Find an Indexer tool which is searchable by language, subject, or indexer name. We also hold bi-monthly Zoom meet-ups on the last Friday of the month; over the years we have built a nice crowd on the screen with attendees joining from all over the U.S. and Canada, as well as Germany and Egypt. Conversation is lively and although we have never had an agenda, we naturally focus on topics related to indexing history.
ASI’s 2024 Annual Conference
Most of us who attended the conference were able to go to dinner one evening. It was delightful and delicious!
Chapters
While SIGs are organized around fields of interest, chapters are organized by geographic location.
ASI membership dues include membership to one chapter, though members may join additional chapters at any time through the online store.
General information on all ASI Chapters can be found, here: Chapter Meetings and Contacts.
Southeast Chapter
Core region:
Alabama
Florida
Georgia
Mississippi
North Carolina
South Carolina
Tennessee
Towards the end of 2024, we held our first social Zoom session, and it was a success! We had four attendees (counting me), but we never were able to coordinate another Zoom meet-up…that is, until 2026 when an enthusiastic new member reached out and was interested in meeting more indexers…so we got busy!
After an initial planning session, we started holding monthly Zoom meetings on the first Thursday of the month. I also started sending a monthly email, in the days following the Zoom meeting, with any relevant announcements from ASI and other bookish news from the region.
Unlike ASI’s Special Interest Groups (SIGs) — where members are scattered across the world, Chapter members all reside in a relatively small geographical area. This allows for some in-person gatherings, which I hope to kick off this year.
Information on all ASI Chapters can be found, here: Chapter Meetings and Contacts
1 ASI membership gets an indexer listed in the member list, but that is only viewable by other members.
2 Website under construction. Please contact periodicals@shaw.ca for details.
