How to Make an Index

10. The entries to be as short as is consistent with intelligibility, but the insertion of names without specification of the cause of reference to be avoided, except in particular cases. The extent of the references, when more than one page, to be marked by indicating the first and last pages.

This rule requires to be carried out with judgment. Few things are more annoying than a long string of references without any indication of the cause of reference, but on the other hand it is objectionable to come across a frivolous entry. The consulter is annoyed to find no additional information in the book to what is already given in the index. It will therefore be found best to set out the various entries in which some fact or opinion is mentioned, and then to gather together the remaining references under the heading of Alluded to.

The most extreme instances of annoying block lists of references under a name are to be found in Ayscough's elaborate index to the Gentleman's Magazine, where all the references under one surname are placed together without even the distinction of the Christian name. The late Mr. Edward Solly made a curious calculation as to the time that would be employed in looking up these references. For instance, under the name Smith there are 2,411 entries en masse, and with no initial letters. If there were these divisions, one would find Zachary Smith in a few minutes, but now one must look to each reference to find what is wanted. With taking down the volumes and hunting through long lists of names, Mr. Solly found that two minutes were occupied in looking up each reference; hence it might take the consulter eight days (working steadily ten hours a day) to find out if there be any note about Zachary Smith in the magazine, a task which no one would care to undertake.

A like instance of bad indexing will be found in Scott's edition of Swift's Works. Here there are 638 references to Robert Harley, Earl of Oxford, without any indication of the reason why his name is entered in the index. This case also affords a good instance of careless indexing in another particular, for these references are separated under different headings instead of being gathered under one, as follows:

The late Mr. B. R. Wheatley read a paper before the Conference of Librarians (1877) on this subject of indexes, without details of the reason or cause of reference, entitled, "An 'Evitandum' in Index-making, principally met with in French and German Periodical Scientific Literature" (Transactions, p. 88). He pointed out that often in German Indexes the entries in the Sach Register would be full and correct, while those in the Namen Register would usually be meagre, and consist merely of the surnames of the authors and the initials of their Christian names. He then referred to many instances of the uselessness of these indexes. He further referred to the forty so-called indexes of subjects added to Allibone's valuable Critical Dictionary of English Literature, which are practically useless. He concluded his paper with these words:

"You are referred to the 'Morals and Manners' index for such varied subjects as Apparitions, Divorce, Marriage, Duelling, Freemasonry, Mormonism, Mythology, Spiritualism and Witchcraft. There are 1,365 names in this index, and how are you to discover which belong to any of the above subjects without wading through the whole? It is, in fact, an entire system of indexing backwards from particulars to generals, instead of from generals to particulars. It is something like writing on a sign-post on the road to Bath, 'To Somersetshire,' and if in one phrase I were to add a characteristic entry to these sub-indexes, or to give one form of reference which should be typical of this style of index, I should say—Needle, see Bottle of Hay. You find the bottle of hay—but where is the needle?"

The form in which the various entries in an index are to be drawn up is worthy of much attention, and particular care should be taken to expunge all redundant words. For example, it would be better to write:

"Smith (John), his character; his execution,"

than

"Smith (John), character of; execution of";

or

"Brown (Robert) saves money,"

than

"Brown (Robert), saving of money by."

A good instance of the frivolous entry is the hackneyed quotation,

"Best (Mr. Justice), his great mind,"

which is supposed to be a reference to a passage in this form: "Mr. Justice Best said that he had a great mind to commit the man for trial." This particular reference is almost too good to be true, and I have not been able to trace it to its source. That has been said to be in the index to one of Chitty's law-books, and it is added that possibly Chitty had a grudge against Sir William Draper Best, one of the Puisne Judges of the King's Bench from 1819 to 1824, and Lord Chief Justice of the Common Pleas from 1824 to 1829, in which latter year he was created Lord Wynford. Another explanation is that it was a joke of Leigh Hunt's, who first published it in the Examiner.

11. Short entries to be repeated under such headings as are likely to be required, in place of a too frequent use of cross references. These references, however, to be made from cognate headings, as Cerebral to Brain, and vice versâ, where the subject matter is different.

Cross references are very useful, but they are not usually popular with those who are unaccustomed to them. They ought to be used where the number of references under a certain heading is large, but it is always better to duplicate the references than to refer too often to insignificant entries.

12. In the case of journals and transactions brief abstracts of the contents of the several articles or papers to be drawn up and arranged in the alphabetical index under the heading of the article.

The advantage of this plan is that a précis can be made of the articles or papers which will be useful to the reader as containing an abstract of the contents, much of which might not be of sufficient importance to be sorted out in the alphabet; in the case where the entries are important they can be duplicated in the alphabet. A good specimen of this plan of indexing may be found in the indexes to the Journal of the Statistical Society.

13. Authorities quoted or referred to in a book, to be indexed under each author's name, the titles of his works being separately set out and the word "quoted" added in italics.

This rule is quite clear, and there is nothing to be added to it. It is evident that all books quoted should be indexed.

14. When the indexed page is large, or contains long lists of names, it is to be divided into four sections, referred to respectively as a, b, c, d; thus if a page contains 64 lines, 1-16 will be a, 17-32 b, 33-48 c, 49-64 d. If in double columns, the page is still to be divided into four—a and b forming the upper and lower halves of the first column, and c and d the upper and lower halves of the second column.

This division of the page will often be found very useful, and save much time to the consulter.

15. When a work is in more than one volume, the number of the volume is to be specified by small Roman numerals. In the case of long sets, such as the "Gentleman's Magazine," a special Arabic numeral for indicating the volume, distinct from the page numeral, may be employed with advantage.

The frequent use of high numbers in Roman capitals is very inconvenient.

16. Entries which refer to complete chapters or distinct papers, to be printed in small capitals or italics.

This is useful as indicating that the italic entry is of more importance than those in Roman type.

17. Headings to be printed in a marked type. A dash, instead of indentation, to be used as a mark of repetition. The dash to be kept for entries exactly similar, and the word to be repeated when the second differs in any way from the first. The proper name to be repeated when that of a different person. In the case of joint authors, the Christian name or initials of the first, whose surname is arranged in the alphabet, to be in parentheses, but the Christian names of the second to be in the natural order, as Smith (John) and Alexander Brown, not Smith (John) and Brown (Alexander).

Dashes should be of a uniform length, and that length should not be too great. It is a mistake to suppose that the dash is to be the length of the line which is not repeated. If it be necessary to make the repetition of a portion of the title as well as the author, this should be indicated by another dash, and not by the elongation of the former one.

The reason for the last direction in this rule is that the Christian name is only brought back in order to make the alphabetical position of the surname clear; and as this is not necessary in respect to the second person, the names should remain in their natural order.

The initials which stand for Christian names often give much trouble, particularly among foreigners. Most Frenchmen use the letter M. to stand for monsieur, giving no Christian name; but sometimes M. stands for Michel or other Christian name commencing with M. The Germans are often very careless in the use of initials, and I have found in one index of a scientific periodical the following specimens of this confusion: (1) H. D. Gerling, (2) H. W. Brandes, (3) D. W. Olbers. Here all three cases look alike, but in the first H. D. represent two titles—Herr Doctor; in the second, H. W. represent two Christian names—Heinrich Wilhelm; and in the third one title and one Christian name—Dr. W. Olbers.

The above rules do not apply to subject indexes, and in certain cases may need modification in accordance with the special character of the work to be indexed. On the whole, it may be said that an alphabetical index is the best; but under special circumstances it may be well to have a classified index. Generally it may be said that there are special objections to classification, and therefore if a classified index is decided upon, it must needs be exceptional, and rules must be made for it by the maker of the index.

In the foregoing rules no mention is made of the difficulties attendant on the use of Oriental names. Under "Rules for a Small Library" in How to Catalogue a Library, I wrote:

"7. Oriental names to be registered in accordance with the system adopted by a recognised authority on the subject."

This, however, is only shifting the responsibility. In an ordinary English index this point is not likely to give much trouble, and the rule may be safely adopted of registration under the first name. But where there are many names to be dealt with, difficulties are sure to arise. In India the last name is usually adopted, and the forenames are frequently contracted into initials, so that it is obligatory to use this name. We must never forget the practical conclusion that a man's real name is that by which he is known. But the indexer's difficulty in a large number of cases is that he does not know what that name is. Sir George Birdwood has kindly drawn up for me the following memorandum on the subject, which is of great value, from the interesting historical account of the growth of surnames in India under British rule which he gives.

On the Indexing of the Names of Eastern People.

Confining myself to the people—Parsees, Hindoos, and Mussulmans (muslimin)—of India, I find it very difficult to state an unexceptionable rule for the indexing of their names; and I index them in the order in which they are signed by the people themselves. The first or forename of a Parsee or a Hindoo, but not of a Mussulman if he be a Pathan, is his own personal or, as we say, "Christian"—that is, baptismal or "water"—name; and their second their father's personal name, and not his family or, as we say, "blood" name, or true surname. The naming of individuals in the successive generations of a Parsee or Hindoo, and certain Mussulmanee families, runs thus: A. G., N. A., U. N., and so on, the grandfather's name disappearing in the third generation.

The Parsees only in comparatively recent times adopted family or true surnames derived from the personal or paternal names, or both, of the first distinguished member of the family, or from his occupation or place of residence, or from some notable friend or patron of his, or from some title conferred on him by the ruler whose subject he was. Thus the Patels of Bombay are descended from Rustom (the son of) Dorabjee, who, for the assistance he gave the English in 1692 against the Seedee of Junjeera, was created, by sanad (i.e. patent), patel (i.e. mayor) of the Coolees of Bombay.

The Parsee Ashburners derive their patronymic from an ancestor in the early part of the late century, the friend and associate of a well-known English gentleman then resident in Western India. The Bhownaggrees take their name from an ancestor, a wealthy jaghirdar, who in 1744 built a tank of solid stone for public use at Bhavnagar in Kattyawar, and also from their later official connection with this well-known "model Native State." The Jamsetjee Jejeebhoys and Comasjee Jehanghiers derive their double-barreled surnames from the first baronet and knight, respectively, of these two eminent Parsee families. Other well-known Parsee surnames are Albless, Bahadurjee, Banajee, Bengalee, Bhandoopwala, Bharda, Cama (or Kama), Dadysett, Damanwala, Gamadia, Gazdar, Ghandi, Kapadia, Karaka, Khabrajee, Kharagat, Kohiyar, Marzban, Modee, Petit (Sir Dinshaw Manockjee Petit, first baronet of this name), Panday, Parak, Sanjana, Sayar, Seth, Sethna, Shroff, Talyarkan, Wadia. Some of their surnames are very eccentric, such as Doctor, Ready-money, Solicitor, etc., and should be abolished. There is actually a Dr. Solicitor.

The interesting point about the Parsee surnames is that when first introduced, through the influence of their close contact with the English, they were not absolutely hereditary, but were changed after a generation or two. Thus the present Bhownaggrees used, at one time, the surname of Compadore, from the office so designated held by one of their ancestors under the Portuguese.

The Hindoos have always had surnames, and jealously guard their authenticity and continuity in the traditions of their families, although they do not, even yet in Western India, universally use them in public. Their personal and paternal names are derived, among the higher castes, from the names of the gods, the thousand and one names of Vishnoo and Seeva, of Ganesha, etc., and from the names of well-known mythological heroes, historical saints, etc., the name selected being one the initial of which indicates the lunar asterism (nakshatra) under which the child (i.e. a son) is born; but their surnames have a tribal, or, as in the case of the Parsees, a local, or official, or some other merely accidental, origin.

If, then, we had only to deal with the Hindoos and Parsees, they might be readily indexed under their surnames. But when we come to the Indian Mussulmans the problem is at once seen to be beset with perplexities which seem to me impossible to unravel. The Indian Mussulmans—indeed all muslimin—are classified as Sayeds, Sheikhs, Mo(n)gols, and Pathans. The Sayeds (literally, "nobles," "lords") are the descendants of the Prophet Mahomet, through his son-in-law Allee; those descended through Fatima being distinguished as Sayed Hussanee and Sayed Hooseinee, and those from his other wives as Sayed Allee. The first name given to a Mussulman of this class is the quasi-surname Sayed or Meer (also, literally, "nobleman," "lord"), followed by the personal name and the paternal name; but these quasi-surnames often fall into disuse after manhood has been reached.

The Sheikhs (literally, "chiefs"),—and all muslimin descended from Mahomet and Aboo Bukeer and Oomur are Sheikhs,—have one or other of the following surnames placed before or after their personal and paternal names: Abd, Allee, Bukhs, Goolam, Khoaja, Sheikh. But as Sayeds are also all Sheikhs, they sometimes, on attaining manhood, assume the surname of Sheikh, dropping that of Sayed, or Meer, given to them at birth.

The Mo(n)gols, whether of the Persian (Eranee) sect of Sheeahs, or the Turkish (Tooranee) sect of Soonnees, have placed before, or after, their personal and paternal names, one or other of the following surnames: Aga ("lord"), Beg ("lord"), Meerza, and Mo(n)gol. But in Persia both Sayeds and Sheikhs assume, instead of their proper patronymics, the surname of Aga, or Beg, or Mo(n)gol; while Mo(n)gols whose mothers are Sayeds are given the pre, or post, surname of Meerza.

The Pathans have the surname Khan ("lord") placed invariably after their personal and paternal names. But Sayeds and Sheikhs often have the word Khan placed after their class, personal, and paternal names—not, however, as a surname, but as a complimentary or substantial title, pure and simple.

Again, all classes of muslimin, and the Hindoos also, and even the Parsees, are in the habit of adding all sorts of complimentary and substantial titles both before and after their names. How, then, is it possible to apply any one rightly reasoned rule to the indexing of such names, or any but the arbitrary rule of thumb:—to index them in the order in which the bearer of them places them in his signature to letters, cheques, and other documents? This gets over all the embarrassing difficulties created by the paraphernalia of a man's official designations, complimentary—or substantial, titles, etc. Take, for example, this transcript of a hypothetical Hindoo official's visiting-card:

"Dewan Sahib" (official and courtesy titles).

"Rajashri" (special social title).

"A." (personal name).

"B." (paternal name).

"Z." (family or true surname).

No Englishman unfamiliar with the etiquettes of Indian personal nomenclature could possibly index such a card as this with intelligent correctness. But this Hindoo gentleman would simply sign himself in a private letter, "A. B. Z." (i.e. A., the son of B., of the clan of Z.), and so he should be indexed.

The personal names of muslimin also have for the most part an astronomical association, being generally selected from those beginning with the initial or finial letter of the name of the planet ruling the day on which the child (i.e. a son) is born.

I presume that what I have here said of the methods of naming the Indian Mussulmans also applies to the muslimin of Persia and Central Asia and Turkey and Arabia; but beyond these countries I have no information as to the methods of naming people in the other Oriental Indies, such as Ceylon, Burmah, China, and Japan.

As to the transliteration of Oriental personal names, I always accept that followed by the person bearing them.

I have put the matter as briefly as possible, and almost too briefly for absolute accuracy of expression; and it will be noted I say nothing of local exceptions to the general rule regulating Hindoo names of persons; and, again, nothing of female names, Hindoo, Mussulmanee, or Parsee.

GEORGE BIRDWOOD.

January 9, 1902.

CHAPTER VII.

How to Set About the Index

"And thus by God's assistance we have finished our Table. Miraculous almost was the execution done by David on the Amalekites who saved neither man nor woman alive to bring tidings to Gath. I cannot promise such exactness in our Index, that no name hath escaped our enquiry: some few, perchance, hardly slipping by, may tell tales against us. This I profess, I have not, in the language of some modern quartermaster, wilfully burnt towns, and purposely omitted them; and hope that such as have escaped our discovering, will only upon examination appear either not generally agreed on, by authors, for proper names, or else by proportion falling without the bounds of Palestine, Soli Deo gloria."—Thomas Fuller.

RULES are needed for index making in order to obtain uniformity, but the mode of working must to a large extent be left to the indexer. Most of us have our own favourite ways of doing things, and it is therefore absurd to dictate to others how to set to work. If we employ any one to do a certain work, we are entitled to expect it to be well done; but we ought to allow the worker to adopt his own mode of work. Some men will insist not only on the work being well done, but also upon their way of doing it. This takes the spirit out of the worker, and is therefore most unwise.

Still, I have found that those who are unaccustomed to index work are anxious to be informed how to proceed. The following notes are therefore only intended as hints for the use of those who wish for them, and need not be acted upon if the reader has a plan that he finds better suited for his purpose. Two essentially different kinds of index must be considered first: (1) There is the index which is always growing; and (2) there is the index that is made at one time, and is printed immediately it is ready for the press. The same course of procedure will not be suitable for both these classes.

1. Indexes to commonplace books belong to this category. It has been usual here to leave a few pages blank for the index, and to arrange the entries in strict alphabetical order under the first letters and then under the first vowel following a consonant, or the second, when the initial is a vowel. This is highly inconvenient and confusing, especially when words without a second vowel, as Ash and Epps, are placed at the head of each letter, Ash coming before Adam and Abel, and Epps before Ebenezer. It is better to spare a few more pages for the index, and plan the alphabet out so that the entries may come in their correct alphabetical order. Unfortunately the blank index is usually set out according to this absurd vowel system. Commonplace books are now, however, very much out of fashion. A better system of note-keeping is to use paper of a uniform size, to write each distinct note on a separate sheet of paper, and to fasten the slips of paper together by means of clips. If this plan is adopted, the notes are much more easily consulted, and they can be rearranged as often as is necessary. Now the index can be made on cards, or a special alphabeticised19 book can be set aside for the purpose. Cards of a uniform size, kept in trays or boxes, are very convenient for the purpose of making an ever-growing index. You can make a general index in one alphabet, and when you have any special subject on hand, you can choose out the particular cards connected with that subject, and arrange them in a distinct alphabet. When the distinct alphabet is no longer required, the cards can be rearranged in the general alphabet. Cards are unquestionably the most convenient for an index that is ever changing in volume and in form. Rearrangement can be made without the trouble of re-writing the entries.

2. For an index which is made straight off at one time, and sent to the printer when finished, foolscap paper is probably the most convenient to use. The pages as written upon can be numbered, and this will relieve the mind of the indexer of fear that any of these should be lost. The numbering will serve till the time comes for the index to be cut up and arranged.

Some indexers use separate slips of a uniform size, or cards, with a single entry on each slip. Although this plan has the advantage that you can keep your index in alphabetical order as you go along, which is sometimes convenient for reference, it is, on the whole, a cumbersome one for an index, although it is almost essential for a catalogue.

In the present day when paper is so cheap, it is well to use fresh sheets all of the same size—either quarto post or foolscap. Some persons are so absurdly economical as to use the blank sides of used paper, such as envelopes, etc., so that their manuscript is of all sizes and will never range. It is necessary to warn such persons that they lose more time by the inconvenient form of their paper than they gain by not buying new material.

In general practice the most convenient plan is to make your index straight on, using the paper you have chosen. Another plan is to use a portfolio of parchment with an alphabet cut on the leaves, and with guards to receive several leaves of foolscap under each letter. Thus every entry can be written at once in first letters. Where there are many large headings this is very convenient, and time is saved by entering the various references on the same folio without the constant repetition of the same heading. Possibly the most convenient method is to unite the two plans. Those references which we know to belong to large headings can be entered on the folios in the alphabetical guard-book, and the rest can be written straight through on the separate leaves.