Fifteen chapter members came together for an informal virtual gathering led by Sam Arnold-Boyd, Amber DeDerick, and Judy Staigmiller. The gathering was designated as a social time within an indexing context, and attendees found this valuable, especially newer indexers who began indexing during the pandemic and indexers with health issues that pose barriers to traveling.
We began the gathering with a rose-thorn-bud sharing. Each of us shared a success or small win, a challenge we experienced, and something new we were looking forward to.
Afterward, we opened up the floor to indexing-related topics. Highlights:
- We spent some time remembering Cher Paul and Jane Henderson, both PNW indexers who died recently. Chapter members are encouraged to send tributes and memories for these (or other) PNW indexers to the Indexing-PNW listserv (indexing-pnw@googlegroups.com).
- There was some discussion of Index Manager for embedded indexing; indexers who have used it seem to like it a lot.
- During the open-ended social time after the meeting, peer review came up as a topic. Peer reviews were spearheaded a number of years ago by Chapter member Martha Osgood, who ran groups that met regularly, online and in Eugene and Portland. About five years ago the Chapter did a virtual peer review, with attendees giving feedback on multiple anonymously-submitted indexes. The index-peer-review listserv is an option for people who are interested in virtual peer review.
Announcements:
- Our next informal virtual gathering will be in late March; stay tuned for details. We plan to have a third informal virtual gathering in the summer. In the fall, we’ll have our yearly virtual meeting featuring a speaker or similar content. We hope to meet again in person in 2026 for the Chapter’s 30th anniversary.
- Indexers are encouraged to volunteer with the Chapter. We’re especially looking for newer indexers to help plan speakers and topics for the Fall meeting. Read more about volunteering opportunities here!
- The Chapter has practice indexing materials available from a 2019 exercise. These include a public-domain book on art and older adults, plus two indexes completed by experienced indexers. Contact cascadeindexing@gmail.com or elizabeth.bartmess@gmail.com for more info.