Nicola King
@nicolaking.bsky.social
Fellow of the Society of Indexers, ex-archaeologist, also family historian, mum, bell ringer, knitter and learning the cornet. Easily found elsewhere. https://abookindexer.com/
Looks fab, but no index :-( Take it from me, indexing excavation reports, even those underwater and with lots of finds, does not take long or cost an unreasonable amount. Ctrl+f is not the same, neither is a long table of contents.
📣Now Available📣
We are pleased to announce that The Shipwreck of the Santo António de Tanná (1697) is now available!
The book details the excavation of a significant part of the ship’s hull and more than 7,000 objects related to its operation, life on board and commercial activity.🏺
We are pleased to announce that The Shipwreck of the Santo António de Tanná (1697) is now available!
The book details the excavation of a significant part of the ship’s hull and more than 7,000 objects related to its operation, life on board and commercial activity.🏺
February 16, 2026 at 4:52 PM
Looks fab, but no index :-( Take it from me, indexing excavation reports, even those underwater and with lots of finds, does not take long or cost an unreasonable amount. Ctrl+f is not the same, neither is a long table of contents.
Reposted by Nicola King
Yes! I do! It can be a quick way to assess if the book will touch on a specific topic you need. Vital for those with restricted research reading time!
However, many indexes are not as good as they should be
However, many indexes are not as good as they should be
February 11, 2026 at 4:38 PM
Yes! I do! It can be a quick way to assess if the book will touch on a specific topic you need. Vital for those with restricted research reading time!
However, many indexes are not as good as they should be
However, many indexes are not as good as they should be
Reposted by Nicola King
Indexing a book is also an art, involving deep understanding of the contents of the book and the likely interest of likely readers, yet unfortunately most indexes nowadays... for the last many decades, actually... are machine-generated crap.
February 11, 2026 at 11:23 PM
Indexing a book is also an art, involving deep understanding of the contents of the book and the likely interest of likely readers, yet unfortunately most indexes nowadays... for the last many decades, actually... are machine-generated crap.
Reposted by Nicola King
Indexing is an underrated skill. It's what's in the book, keywords, but also what people will use to look up something, which may not be identical. And taking you to info, not merely a passing reference.
February 12, 2026 at 11:45 AM
Indexing is an underrated skill. It's what's in the book, keywords, but also what people will use to look up something, which may not be identical. And taking you to info, not merely a passing reference.
Some publishers really should know better than to outsource like this.
My book MAGNUM OPUS would have been out a few months earlier but the publisher outsourced the copyediting to an AI company and they fucked up the manuscript to an insane degree. The index had listings for the n word and the f slur because I mentioned that Axl Rose sang them in "One in a Million."
February 9, 2026 at 11:05 AM
Some publishers really should know better than to outsource like this.
Reposted by Nicola King
Paula Clarke Bain @baindex.org is Chair of Society of Indexers @indexers.bsky.social - this session will explore the commonalities of the fields of book indexing & library & information science + the shared purpose of helping people to find information in books & other media
#MetaFutures #Conference
#MetaFutures #Conference
#MetaFutures Day 1: 11th March PM
🔦 Spotlight: #Collaborative #Metadata-ing 🤝
Indexers & Information Professionals: Crossovers and Co-operation 📇 Paula Clarke Bain
Explore the similarities & differences & connections between the work of information professionals & indexers
🔦 Spotlight: #Collaborative #Metadata-ing 🤝
Indexers & Information Professionals: Crossovers and Co-operation 📇 Paula Clarke Bain
Explore the similarities & differences & connections between the work of information professionals & indexers
February 6, 2026 at 9:49 AM
Paula Clarke Bain @baindex.org is Chair of Society of Indexers @indexers.bsky.social - this session will explore the commonalities of the fields of book indexing & library & information science + the shared purpose of helping people to find information in books & other media
#MetaFutures #Conference
#MetaFutures #Conference
Reposted by Nicola King
Despite the colossal amount of monetary, natural, human & political resources thrown at AI, it is still shit.
AI writes like shit, evaluates and reasons on only the most superficial levels, and introduces errors. It is useless when it isn’t dangerous.
It can’t even index a book.
AI writes like shit, evaluates and reasons on only the most superficial levels, and introduces errors. It is useless when it isn’t dangerous.
It can’t even index a book.
February 3, 2026 at 7:53 AM
Despite the colossal amount of monetary, natural, human & political resources thrown at AI, it is still shit.
AI writes like shit, evaluates and reasons on only the most superficial levels, and introduces errors. It is useless when it isn’t dangerous.
It can’t even index a book.
AI writes like shit, evaluates and reasons on only the most superficial levels, and introduces errors. It is useless when it isn’t dangerous.
It can’t even index a book.
Reposted by Nicola King
Great that @livunipress.bsky.social have included @indexer.bsky.social (41, 1, 2023) as a free to read journal issue. Articles cover the joy of reading, indexing excellence, peer reviews, finding your first indexing job, book reviews and conference reports. Lots to enjoy! #IndexSky
buff.ly/YiLKWzB
buff.ly/YiLKWzB
Contents | The Indexer 41, 1
The wonder of reading and the pleasure of an index that surpasses just ‘being good’ are intertwined experiences. In this thought piece, the index is understood to be in service of the reader, a…
www.liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk
January 30, 2026 at 11:12 AM
Great that @livunipress.bsky.social have included @indexer.bsky.social (41, 1, 2023) as a free to read journal issue. Articles cover the joy of reading, indexing excellence, peer reviews, finding your first indexing job, book reviews and conference reports. Lots to enjoy! #IndexSky
buff.ly/YiLKWzB
buff.ly/YiLKWzB
Reposted by Nicola King
“Bowen and Watson's own writing is embarrassingly sloppy, too often mirroring the imprecision and nonsense of even the best AI models. Typos abound. Metaphors fall flat… Research is misrepresented and citations too often come off as afterthoughts. The AI-generated index is useless.”
Nothing I love more than a scathing, borderline-petty academic book review. Truly the best tradition in the genre.
A Pedagogy of the Inevitable
Over the last couple of years, two altogether incompatible discourses of “AI literacy” have emerged. One seeks just enough literacy to support a smooth, perhaps even joyful, integration with new techn...
read.dukeupress.edu
February 2, 2026 at 6:35 AM
“Bowen and Watson's own writing is embarrassingly sloppy, too often mirroring the imprecision and nonsense of even the best AI models. Typos abound. Metaphors fall flat… Research is misrepresented and citations too often come off as afterthoughts. The AI-generated index is useless.”
To learn more about being a book indexer, see @indexers.bsky.social page www.indexers.org.uk/about-indexi..., have a go at the exercises linked there. Many come to indexing from librarianship and Jola is running this course. Other courses are available.
January 22, 2026 at 9:52 AM
To learn more about being a book indexer, see @indexers.bsky.social page www.indexers.org.uk/about-indexi..., have a go at the exercises linked there. Many come to indexing from librarianship and Jola is running this course. Other courses are available.
Reposted by Nicola King
There is something very satisfying about starting research in the index of a book rather than a keyboard.
January 19, 2026 at 2:59 PM
There is something very satisfying about starting research in the index of a book rather than a keyboard.
And the brass band festival is postponed due to the NT takeover www.facebook.com/share/17fk4n...
January 19, 2026 at 10:08 PM
And the brass band festival is postponed due to the NT takeover www.facebook.com/share/17fk4n...
You don't have to be a librarian to become a book indexer.
Are you thinking about indexing as a new career direction in 2026? Is it the right fit for you? In our new Ask the Indexers blog post, our panel share how they came to indexing, and how they knew it was right for them. Current indexers - what's your origin story? #IndexSky
Ask the Indexers: what made you become an indexer?
In our first Ask the Indexers post of 2026, we ask the indexers: what initially drew you to indexing, and how did you know it was the right fit? Valeria Padalin
buff.ly
January 19, 2026 at 9:49 AM
You don't have to be a librarian to become a book indexer.
A good read on the very niche world of brass band contests.
‘By the thirteenth listen, I couldn’t bring to mind Beethoven or Mahler: I had forgotten what other music sounded like.’
Rachel Armitage attends the final of the National Brass Band Championships at the Royal Albert Hall:
www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
Rachel Armitage attends the final of the National Brass Band Championships at the Royal Albert Hall:
www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
Rachel Armitage · Diary: Brass Bands
Many brass bands were started by factory owners in the belief that music would give their workers purpose, strengthen...
www.lrb.co.uk
January 18, 2026 at 4:24 PM
A good read on the very niche world of brass band contests.
As well as being 'oddball' these projects show the abilities of some indexers to collaborate with authors and editors to get the job done.
At yesterday's Zoom Coffee Morning, twenty SI members met to discuss oddball projects – unexpected indexing requirements, niche subject areas, clients with very specific needs – and how we can adapt and adjust our working practices to deal with them. #IndexSky
January 16, 2026 at 12:01 PM
As well as being 'oddball' these projects show the abilities of some indexers to collaborate with authors and editors to get the job done.
It is always worth checking if you can get funding for book indexing or other production costs. Depending on the subject area there are funds available if you know who to ask.
Said this at a panel I chaired on Saturday, and so it’s on my mind.
My dream is a grant/prize that funds the cost of book indexing for un/underemployed or independent historians. It’s $1,000+ (depending on indexer’s rate and book length) or you do it yourself—which is a big investment of time.
My dream is a grant/prize that funds the cost of book indexing for un/underemployed or independent historians. It’s $1,000+ (depending on indexer’s rate and book length) or you do it yourself—which is a big investment of time.
January 13, 2026 at 10:04 AM
It is always worth checking if you can get funding for book indexing or other production costs. Depending on the subject area there are funds available if you know who to ask.
While we are having a bit of a buzz about #DiggingForBritain don't forget that many projects end up in book form and those books need indexes. I love my job, I get to read the full reports before they are published and make indexes to guide readers through complex stuff.
January 9, 2026 at 10:14 AM
While we are having a bit of a buzz about #DiggingForBritain don't forget that many projects end up in book form and those books need indexes. I love my job, I get to read the full reports before they are published and make indexes to guide readers through complex stuff.
Thanks to Paula you too can follow a bunch of book indexers and related organisations on Bluesky.
A 2026 reshare of my starter pack of freelance book indexers on Bluesky, including members of @indexers.bsky.social and other indexing societies. It’s opt-in/out by request, so just let me know if you wish to join or leave it. Good to see you all in the #IndexSky.
go.bsky.app/GzqinPu
go.bsky.app/GzqinPu
Book indexers (starter pack)
Join the conversation
go.bsky.app
January 7, 2026 at 10:26 AM
Thanks to Paula you too can follow a bunch of book indexers and related organisations on Bluesky.
Reposted by Nicola King
A 2026 reshare of my starter pack of freelance book indexers on Bluesky, including members of @indexers.bsky.social and other indexing societies. It’s opt-in/out by request, so just let me know if you wish to join or leave it. Good to see you all in the #IndexSky.
go.bsky.app/GzqinPu
go.bsky.app/GzqinPu
Book indexers (starter pack)
Join the conversation
go.bsky.app
January 7, 2026 at 10:02 AM
A 2026 reshare of my starter pack of freelance book indexers on Bluesky, including members of @indexers.bsky.social and other indexing societies. It’s opt-in/out by request, so just let me know if you wish to join or leave it. Good to see you all in the #IndexSky.
go.bsky.app/GzqinPu
go.bsky.app/GzqinPu
Available on YouTube here www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBC4... with thanks to @stephenullstrom.bsky.social
January 5, 2026 at 9:24 AM
Available on YouTube here www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBC4... with thanks to @stephenullstrom.bsky.social
Well worth an hour. Thanks Mike.
Great to see so many at the Society of Antiquaries yesterday. For those unable to make it my talk is now online here, revealing the shocking origins of the popular – and entirely false – idea that Islanders destroyed their world. With nice pictures
www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNR6...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNR6...
Ecocide: What went wrong in Rapa Nui by Mike Pitts FSA
YouTube video by SocAntiquaries
youtube.com
December 31, 2025 at 12:00 PM
Well worth an hour. Thanks Mike.
Saw a stunning woman walking along Broad Street in Oxford. Only realised who she was when I recognised the man walking with her was David Bowie.
Right folks. Feeling rather down at the moment so bringing back an oldie
Please Quote this with your most minor celebrity interaction
Please Quote this with your most minor celebrity interaction
December 29, 2025 at 8:13 PM
Saw a stunning woman walking along Broad Street in Oxford. Only realised who she was when I recognised the man walking with her was David Bowie.
Doing that end of year tidy up thing for my blog abookindexer.com and SI Directory Entry www.indexers.org.uk/find-an-inde... I've done 33 indexing projects, just shy of 9000 pages.
SI Directory of Professional Indexers
Directory of professional indexers. To find an indexer by subject specialism, select a subject using the drop-down menu.
www.indexers.org.uk
December 29, 2025 at 11:15 AM
Doing that end of year tidy up thing for my blog abookindexer.com and SI Directory Entry www.indexers.org.uk/find-an-inde... I've done 33 indexing projects, just shy of 9000 pages.
They did - after a period of further review they said "it’s a really impressive and valuable piece of work.
Latest client feedback for an index - Thank you very much for this! A formidable and impressive piece of work. - I hope they mean formidable in a good way!
December 28, 2025 at 10:31 AM
They did - after a period of further review they said "it’s a really impressive and valuable piece of work.
Last Carol session of 2025. Merry Christmas. www.facebook.com/share/v/1Dne...
Redirecting...
www.facebook.com
December 24, 2025 at 10:17 PM
Last Carol session of 2025. Merry Christmas. www.facebook.com/share/v/1Dne...