On December 1, I attended my first virtual conference. It was hosted by ASI (American Society for Indexing) and the conference was called “Getting Better! Improving the Indexing Mind, Body, and Business.” I wasn’t sure what to expect but I certainly didn’t expect to see over fifty attendees of all ages, many from across the globe. There were five sessions in total—none over an hour. The fifteen-minute breaks in between allowed for a snack and drink refill as well as some chitchat among the attendees. I learned as much from listening in to those impromptu conversations as I did from the sessions. My favourite presenter was Anna-Marie Larsen, an indexer and a yoga instructor. She understands the physical challenges of spending hours at the computer and took us through a short but effective stretching session. It was a good reminder to take care of our bodies as carefully as we take care of the details in the indexes we create.
After the conference, I promptly updated my website and my LinkedIn profile. I ordered two indexing resources, and I reached out to my accountant to set up an appointment for a check-in chitchat. Indexing can sometimes feel like a lonely job but spending a few hours with over 50 indexers was a gentle reminder that there is a whole group of us out there . . . and that we can learn from each other if we take the time to reach out. It got me wondering what the collective noun is for a group of indexers. I couldn’t find the answer so decided to make my own. My favourites so far are an intuition of indexers. Or perhaps an instinct of indexers. Or an indentation of indexers, which I much prefer to a run-in of indexers (ha!). So many options.