FLHIG
 

Family and Local History
Indexing Group

Selected articles from the Newsletter

This article first appeared in SIGGNL 20 pages 5 to 8

Indexing of Periodicals - Format of Entries II
by Tony Rydings

In the previous article we considered the three main kinds of entry which are found in an index of contributions to a family history periodical. We come now to the format of entries, and we cannot hope to deal with all matters, but will try to give general guidance. They will vary also, depending upon the kind of entry as described previously, namely persons, places and subjects; but every entry will comprise up to four principal elements.

For convenience we will deal with entries as follows:

Simple entries

A minimum entry could consist of a single word for main entry, and a single reference, but most entries will contain more details, depending upon the complexity of the contents. Thus, an entry comprising an event in the life of a person at a particular place might appear as

It is unlikely that an index entry to a periodical article would call for anything beyond Devereux ... Essex, unless it mentioned the two Earls of Essex of the same name, though one should be prepared to distinguish similar entries.

Parts of an entry

First to identify the different parts of an index entry, we should explain in the above example:

where the first part is as usual the main heading, and that following see is the reference. We will consider later the various kinds of cross-references which may be needed in an index.

Main headings

Regarding the main headings, some general points may be emphasized. First, in most headings the plural form will be preferred to the singular, such as

Terms needing explanation

With some terms that need explanation, it is usually done by adding this in parentheses after the term, such as

Although these terms are shorter, the preferred ones have the advantage of bringing together terms which may be sought as groups.

Hyphens and diacritical marks

Another feature which may affect the alphabetical arrangement is the use of hyphens and diacritical marks, which are to be avoided as far as possible, unless the sense cannot be conveyed otherwise. In earlier articles we have had examples of these, in names of persons (L'Estrange) and places (Widecombe in the Moor). In the former the apostrophe cannot properly be omitted, but in the latter the three hyphens may be inserted or omitted in the text. Although it may be considered inconsistent to omit hyphens in the index when they are present in the text, the index would appear odd if some entries include the hyphens and others omit them. Cross-references are unnecessary between, say, Newcastle upon Tyne, and Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

Subentries

Generally speaking the rules for subentries are much the same as for main headings. First, though, it is necessary to decide on whether the first letter of the main heading should be capitalized: past practice has tended to use an initial capital, and in family history the question is often answered by itself, since most (or all) main headings start with a proper name. Nowadays, however, for headings which do not start with a proper noun, the tendency is not to capitalize, e.g.

This example also illustrates the usual practice for the initial of the first word of the subentry, which will similarly not be capitalized, whether the subentry is indented as above, or run on.

Sequence of subentries

The sequence of subentries is nearly always alphabetical, and if for any reason it is not this should be explained in the introduction to the index. The following example is based on one given in Manual for MACREX, version 6 ... 1994, on sorting of subheadings:

The logic here is to arrange the sub-subentries in chronological rather than alphabetical order, which is convenient to the user in historical or biographical materials, and particularly when there are numerous sub- or sub-subentries, though this will rarely occur in indexes to periodicals.

Cross references

The omission of cross-references is one of the more frequent faults in poor indexing. It is therefore important to have a clear understanding of the kinds of cross-references and their functions. There are four kinds of cross-references which may be used in indexes to periodicals, as follows:

and they are best explained by examples of each.

Examples of
cross references

See references are the most frequently used, and in the Subject list for indexing of writings on family and local history currently under preparation there are more headings recorded as see references than those which are to be used in entries. We have also given several examples of see references in the previous two articles, such as for variations of names for persons (Beaconsfield, Earl of, see DISRAELI, Benjamin) and places (Drenewydd see Newtown (Mgy)).

The use of see also is often a two-way reference, such as

Places see under names of places

Author and title entries

The details which have been given in the previous articles in this series have dealt with the contents of the index, and mention has only been made in passing of the authors and titles, which will usually be contained in a list of contents. Sometimes the author and title will also be included in the index, and the question then is how to present this information.

A convenient arrangement is to display an entry thus:

It is doubtful whether any title entry under "Local" is necessary, but one might expect a subject entry under newspaper indexes.

In a final article I may add some notes on spelling, punctuation and abbreviations, but this is perhaps relatively unimportant, and several examples have already been given. I had hoped for some comments on this series, as I am sure that not all my suggestions are indisputable, and I should appreciate some debate.

Ç TOP