TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Subject:Re: marginal :-) definition From:Lori Lathrop <76620 -dot- 456 -at- COMPUSERVE -dot- COM> Date:Tue, 29 Mar 1994 22:56:22 EST
Mike Pope (mikep -at- ASYMETRIX -dot- COM) asks:
> While we're on the topic of indexing and glossaries and such, let me
> pose this question for general pondering: do you index glossary entries
> (ie, does the index lead people to the glossary)?
The answer to that question depends upon who you ask or which book on
indexing you prefer.
_Indexing from A to Z_ by Hans H. Wellisch says:
"Glossaries are often included in books on topics whose terminology is
still unstable or full of neologisms and specific usages of terms by the
author. The presence of a glossary should be indexed, and the terms
defined in it (which will almost inevitably be employed in the text and
thus have index entries) should also be indexed, preferably by a sub-
heading 'defined'."
And, Nancy Mulvany's new book, _Indexing Books_, says:
"As a general rule, the contents of the bibliography and glossary are
not indexed. However, if the back matter is lengthy, it may be helpful
to readers to cite in the index the presence of the glossary or
bibliography."
And, FWIW, my own opinion is that it's a judgment call. For example,
in a fairly small book, it may not be necessary to index the terms in
the glossary. However, if the book is very technical or very large,
then it's often helpful to include glossary terms in the index ...
especially if (and this does happen occasionally) the glossary contains
terms that do not appear in the text but are related to the topics in
the text; I've seen that happen in large product libraries.
Lori Lathrop ---------> INTERNET:76620 -dot- 456 -at- compuserve -dot- com
Lathrop Media Services
P.O. Box 808
Georgetown, CO 80444
