Website Indexes. James A. Lamb. Jalamb.com Ltd., 2006. 130 pp. $34.99.
This is my first experience with a print-on-demand or self-published
book. I must admit that my expectations were rather low,
but the book has passed the test very well. It is smallish with a
glossy soft paper cover that still looks glossy after intensive use, and
the binding has withstood my ill-treatment. The print is clear and
pleasant on the eye.
The book claims to be a complete guide to building and maintaining
website indexes. It assumes no prior knowledge of indexing
in general or HTML in particular. The first 79 pages contain
comprehensive instructions on how to build a website index,
starting with basics such as website access and how to measure the
job for a quote. There follows a step-by-step guide, using the
freeware software XRefHT32, to creating an actual web index. A
third or more of the book (pp. 81–118) is a reference manual for
the XRefHT32 software. As the creator of XRefHT32, Professor
Tom Craven, didn’t intend to produce a manual himself, this clearly
fills a gap. The book has a solid index.
Website Indexes is a great introduction to web indexing in general
and is also a good practical guide to working with XRefHT32.
After downloading the software, I was able immediately to take my
first tentative steps in making a website index. The writing is matter
of fact and to the point. The screenshots are helpful. As you work
your way through the book you are introduced among other things
to creating headings, adding cross-references, adding anchors and
using templates to change the ultimate look of the index. Advice on
the use of thesauri in indexing specialist websites is coupled with
information about a thesauri ‘plug-in’ for XRefHT32, which can
also be downloaded free from Tim Craven’s website
(http://publish.uwo.ca/~craven/freeware.htm). Another free
‘plug-in’ (which gets just a passing mention), ExtPhr32, shows the
number of occurrences of words and phrases in a text. One chapter
explains how an index file from a dedicated back-of-the-book
software program can be converted for use in XRefHT32.
XRefHT32 software is free, so (with this manual to turn to) it is a
good way for indexers to test whether website indexing is for them.
(The more sophisticated HTML Indexer© has a price tag of
$239.95.)
All in all, Website indexes is a welcome addition to the only other
book I know on the subject (not counting the HTML pages of
Heather Hedden’s web indexing course): Website indexing:
enhancing access to information within websites, by Glenda Browne
and Jonathan Jermey. So if you really are interested in web
indexing, this is a good buy.
Pierke Bosschieter, freelance indexer
© 2007 The Indexer
Reproduced with permission
