Catalog Building and Indexing

Anecdotal evidence and studies both show that readers do not want to search in different places to find information. Faster access to important information also translates to better prospects for an employee. Hence indexing and building catalogs of existing archives become essential for any organization’s prosperity.

But aren't Indexes and Catalogs the same?

In publishing, an index is found at the back of a book. Indices are usually organized alphabetically; contents pages are organized according to the order of pages in the book. A catalog, on the other hand, is a formal inventory, description, and locating aid of the holdings of an archive, library or any other repository, often in card form or computer database form.

Ok, but why do I need Indexes and Catalogs?

To save time! Time is the most important factor in deciding today’s success and failures. Time is money, time is competitive edge. If you have a consolidated catalogue and/or an index of your archives, valuable time is saved when looking something buried deep inside an archive. Think of your archive as a haystack and information as a needle; you know it’s there but don’t know where. Indexes and catalogs can act as a magnet to pull the needle quickly from the haystack.

So your personnel have excellent language skills, high clerical aptitude, accuracy and attention to detail. What other skills are essential?

Since loads of publications and an equal number of cataloging and indexing professionals exist in the world, a standard set of indexing processes is tough to compile and adhere to.

In addition to excellent language skills, high clerical aptitude, accuracy and attention to detail, professionals need to understand the needs of the audience for the book. They also need to know when to reword the author's thoughts. Thorough and consistent, they should be proficient in tying related concepts together. Our personnel are well-trained to perform any of these tasks with perfect efficiency.

What type of Research and Analysis related services can I avail from Outsource2india?

Our services include:

• Catalog services - collection and management
• Standardization
• Presentation of normalized data in required format
• Parametric comparison based on important attributes
• Classification
• Coding design
• Indexing

Can you tell me about your indexing and cataloging process?

First and foremost, we follow strict policies about client specifications: guidelines provided by author or editor are strictly adhered to. We understand that editorial guidelines like rules for indexing references and illustrations, terms to be included, index format to be followed etc. are very important for our customers to realize the overall benefits of indexing and cataloging their archives.

We believe in bringing maturity and quality to your doorstep so all our projects are designated to the subject matter experts who know what they are doing.

Here is the actual process:

• Review of material sent by the client to ensure it is a completed document
• Our experts skim the entire publication to get a sense of the topics covered and their interrelationships
• They note chapter headings and subheadings, and boldfaced and italicized information
• Identify relevant keywords and indexed under appropriate sections depending on the nature of the article
• Automated software tools assist in simplifying our indexing and cataloging process to deliver the completed material to the client at the earliest possible time
• Designing and formatting done on software in the presence of our professionals who understand the rules of alphabetization and sorting

In some cases, indexing programs may not handle the data correctly in which case our professional recognizes and corrects the problems.

Do you adhere to a checklist while creating indexes and catalogs?

O2I's professionals and subject matter experts are trained to look at various attributes while doing the project. Basically, they see if the indexed terms are appropriate for the intended audience, are the main headings relevant to the needs of the reader etc.

Other questions that our professionals ask themselves: is the material identified pertinent, specific, and comprehensive? Not too general yet not too narrow? Not inane or improbable? Are the subheadings useful? Are subheadings concise, with the most important word at the beginning? Is the type large enough to be easily read? Do the index pages look open and not crowded? Is the organization — alphabetical, chronological, or other — accurate, clear, and consistent?

Outsource your Research and Analysis to O2I

We've been in the business of Research and Analysis outsourcing and other outsourcing services for the past six years. If you would like to find out more about our indexing services and/or about outsourcing Research and Analysis services to O2I, please fill in the inquiry form and our Client Engagement Team will contact you within 24 hours.

Please contact Outsource2india here with your outsourcing requirements.