THE ENCYCLOPAEDIA BRITANNICA INDEX:

HOW IT IS COMPILED

C. H. W. KENT*

Although the subject of this talk is the compilation of the index of the

Encyclopedia Britannica, the phrase requires explanation. Since the 1930s the

Encyclopaedia Britannica has been subject to a process of continuous revision in

which several million words throughout the 23 text volumes are revised each year

in order to keep the subject matter up to date and to reflect the views of modern

scholarship. Thus there are now no separate editions of the Encyclopaedia Britan

nica, but, instead, annual or biennial printings. As a result, the index, although

it is revised to reflect the changes in each printing, is not compiled anew for each

printing.

In the Encyclopaedia Britannica the index is, perhaps more than in any other

kind of book, vital to the full and satisfactory use of the text, for a general

encyclopaedia in more than 20 volumes cannot be used to full advantage unless

the index is consulted first. For example, if the reader turns to the article GREAT

BRITAIN in volume 10 of the Encyclopaedia Britannica he will find a long article

on that country, but the article by no means represents all the information in

the encyclopaedia about Great Britain. To find all this material the reader must

go first to the text index, where under the entry Great Britain he will find not

only the reference to the main article but also some 4i columns of references to

information in many related articles throughout the 23 text volumes of the work.

The text index of the Encyclopaedia Britannica is the result of an accumula

tion of more than 500,000 cards, measuring 3 in. x 5 in. and giving the precise

quarter of a page in which a thing or a person or an idea is mentioned in the

42 thousand articles. Originally, these thousands of cards were then assembled

and alphabetized to make the text index. A staff of women graduates, with broad

educational interests, working under the supervision of the chief indexer, have the

task of keeping the index up to date insofar as it is affected by the annual revision

of subject matter in the body of the work.

To-day the indexers work not from cards but from the printed text of the last

printing of the index. This is stripped up and each column is pasted down in the

centre of a blank sheet of heavy bond typing paper, which gives space on each

side of the column to write in corrections. The strips are put in spring binders

which are inserted in a revolving table, known as " Lazy Susan ", so that all the

indexers have equal access to them.

1. Reading and Analysing for Indexing. The indexer begins by reading

completely through a type page proof of the new copy which is to be indexed,

underscoring lightly with red pencil those words that seem indexable. After

reading and digesting the content and import of the article, she then begins to

search the index for the best entries under which to add her references, looking

diligently for entries that may be under synonyms, pseudonyms, alternative names,

* Text of talk given to the Society in January, 1962.

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names that have more than one acceptable spelling, etc. As she makes the entries

on the index cards she can then make the underscoring heavier. If this procedure

is followed, it is easier to avoid three of the most common and (to the reader)

most irritating indexing mistakes: splitting up references that should be together

under one heading; duplicating references for the same thing under alternative

names ; and placing wrong references under names that are alike but have different

meanings.

In almost all cases, a term is indexed only once in an article, reference being

made to the first place where there is adequate information for indexing. Usually

this is enough. If an article runs for four pages and the first reference to a topic

appears on the first page, with further information on the fourth, the reference

can be made with the abbreviation "fol." after the page number (7-156c fol.).

However, in long articles such as UNITED STATES, which may run to more than

a hundred pages, it is usual to index the same topic more than once, with specific

page references, if the information justifies it.

2. Underscoring. All terms which are indexed are indicated on the text

page either by underscoring the words in the text or by writing the indexed term

in the margin at the exact location where it is indexed. All underscoring is done

on the " file " copy of the page proof. The file copy of the final proof is kept in

the indexing department as a permanent record of all the indexing to that page

and is called, for convenience, the " master page ".

Red is always used for underscoring and the underscoring must be exact.

If the word in the text is " Holland " but the reference is indexed under " Nether

lands ", a red ring is drawn round " Holland ", a line drawn to the margin and

" Netherlands " written in. If a subject has a long entry in the index with bold

face subheads, the underscoring also indicates the boldface subhead. This saves

the indexer time in locating a reference if it is ever necessary to change it. In

underscoring compound terms such as " family budget", an upright is used to

show which word the entry is under in the index.

Example: family | budget

indicates that this reference is indexed under the inverted heading " Budget,

family ". If the reference is indexed under both " Budget, Family " and " Family

Budget", two uprights are used:

Example: | family | budget

If the index entry under " Family budget" is a cross-reference " Family budget:

see Budget, family ", then the underscoring would be:

c/r

| family | budget

This shows that there are two entries, one of which is a cross-reference. It

also indicates that the page references are all under " Budget, family " since an

arrow shows the c/r pointing to " Budget".

All indexing on new copy is indicated on the file copy in the above manner.

At the same time, the final page proof of the previous printing (known as the

old master page) is always checked to determine whether the indexing on the

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old page is to be retained in the same position, retained but moved to a different

position, or dropped entirely. If a term that was indexed and underscored on

the old master page is indexed and underscored on the new copy in the same

position, a red tick is put through the underscored word on the old master page. If

a term indexed and underscored on the old master page is indexed and underscored in

a different position on the new copy, a red " X " is put through the underscored

word on the old master. By this method it is easy to ascertain which of the old

terms have not been used again. Those which have neither a tick nor an "X"

are then deleted from the index. As they are deleted, a red " N " is drawn through

the underscored word on the old master. After indexing is completed, the master

page can then be checked to see whether any of the old terms were overlooked,

for all underscored words on it should be marked with a tick, an " X " or an " N ".

/ = same position

X = changed position

N = killed or deleted from the index

3. "Must" Indexing, (a) Article Titles: All article titles appear as bold

face entries in the index, as they do in the text. Some boldface entries in the text,

however, are not articles but cross-references, as:

Elasticity of Demand: see Demand ; Price ; Supply and Demand.

These do not appear as boldface entries in the index. They may or may not

appear in the index depending on whether they lend themselves to good indexing

practices. Other boldface entries in the text are really extended cross-references,

which define the title and then refer to other articles which treat the subject at

length, as: Jesuits the name commonly given to the members of the Society of

Jesus. (See Jesus, Society of.)

In such cases it is usual to put a cross-reference in the index (Jesuits: see

Jesus, Society of) rather than to make " Jesuits " a boldface index entry.

(b) Botanical and Zoological Terms: Botanical and zoological references to

plants and animals giving the specific Latin scientific term with the specific English

name are automatically indexed the first time they appear in an article.

(c) Open Dates: Text references to living persons where birth dates are

given are automatically indexed. This is done to facilitate the task of finding such

dates when the person dies and the death date must be added.

4. Forms for Entries. An entry in the index consists of a subject heading,

all general references, subheads and sub-subheads with their references, and cross-

references contained in the listing under that heading. Each of the following five

examples is a complete entry. No. 3 is an example of a cross-reference entry.

1. AFGHANISTAN, Asia

General l-283a ; 2-514b

archae. 3-19a

Bank for Reconstruction and

Development 3-37a

coal 5-882b

coinage 16-63 lb

flag PI. VIII 9-FLAG

.19

Kabul 13-235a

Pathan 17-378b

Turks 21.623b

univ. 22-878b

History l-284c

Abdur Rahman 1-3 lb

Baluchistan 3-10c

India 12-168c following

Pakistan 16-54 Id

Persia 17-573d

World War I 12-173d; 23-447b

see also Afghan War

2. Bank of the United States 3-46c ;

22-800b; 22-79d

Jackson, Andrew 7-186a

3. Northern cornel (shrub): see

Dwarf honeysuckle

4. TWAIN, MARK (Clemens, Samuel

Langhorne) 22-634Ab;

l-789d ; 16-578d ; 5-477d

boyhood home il. 15-612

5. CAMASSIA (Camass, Quamasia)

(bot.) 4-637a

In form there are two kinds of entry headings in the index, boldface all caps

and lightface upper and lower case. Boldface headings indicate that there is an

article in the text under that heading. Titles of articles must appear in the index

just as they do in the text, but, as we have seen, text cross-references are never

treated as articles and extended text cross-references are not always treated as

articles in the index. Lightface headings indicate subject headings on which there

are no articles in the text. They may have direct page references or they may be

cross-reference entries (all index cross-reference entries are in lightface).

Hanaman, Franz 14-103c

Church music

Ambrosian chant l-743c

Bach 2-869c fol.

beginning 16-5d

Byzantine 4-402c fol.

chorale 5-620c

drama 7-587b

Mass 15-22b

motet 15-849b

Negro, Am. 16-200d.

plainsong 17-997b

Hangbird ; see Baltimore oriole

Subheads and Sub-subheads: When it is desirable to show what phase of

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a subject is discussed in a text reference, an identifying subhead precedes the ref

erence. All subheads are indented one em space, this being indicated for the

printer by drawing a square in front of the subhead.

When it is desirable to particularize the information further, subheads and

sub-subheads are used, the subheads being indented one em and the sub-subheads

two em spaces (indicated for the printer by drawing two squares). In very long

entries such as those for some articles on large countries, the subheads are set

in boldface caps and lower case.

In long entries for countries, states, wars, etc., where big breakdowns may be

indicated by boldface subheads, it is usually necessary to have one category

labelled " General ". This is for those references which do not fit into any particu

lar category. Sub-subheads are normally used, in such cases, to identify the type

of information contained in the references. In shorter entries, general references

are those which are not preceded by a subhead or a sub-subhead.

WRECK 23-801c; 2-795a

References: All direct text references are cited by volume and page number

and page location. The volume number and the hyphen which follows it are

in boldface, the page number and letter location are in lightface, and the whole

reference is closed up without space.

Example: 5-713a

When the reference is to textual information, the exact quarter of a page is

indicated by lower case letters a, b, c and d, indicating, respectively, the upper

and lower left quarters, and the upper and lower right quarters of the page.

References to illustrations, charts and maps are usually given without the

small letter identifying the exact quarter of the page, although if there is more

than one picture, chart or map on a page the locating letter is used to avoid

confusion.

INDIAN, NORTH AMERICAN (people)

12-200Hc

dwellings 7-786b ; il. 11-809 ; 2-92b.

PERGAMUM (Pergamus, Pergamon)

(mod. Bergama), Turk. 17-507c;

maps 17-544 (A2); 19-501 (H4);

PI. Ill 10-GREECE

VIENNA, Aus. (Ger. 23-140d; 2-744c

fol.; 2.275a fol.; Pis. I, III, IV

2-AUSTRIA ; map 119-500 (C2)

5. Alphabetization. The rules for alphabetizing entries in the index and in

the text are the same. All entries, whether consisting of a single word or of two

or more words, are treated for the purpose of alphabetization as if they were one

word, and are alphabetized letter by letter down to the first punctuation mark.

The position of names which are the same is then determined by the order (1)

persons ; (2) places ; (3) things. The order is next determined by the alphabetiza

tion of the word following the punctuation mark, except that titles are not con

sidered. Individuals of the same name but with different titles are arranged in the

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order of importance of their titles; e.g., saints, popes, emperors, kings (arranged

among themselves by name of realm and then by numeral), dukes, marquesses,

earls, etc. A classifying word or phrase following the entry in parentheses is not

treated as part of the heading for alphabetical purposes except in a series of

identical entries.

Boxing

Boycott

Boyer, Sir Alfred

Boyer, Charles

Boyer, John

Boy Scouts

Brahms, Johannes

Bush, Vannevar

Bush, Miss.

Bush (bot.)

6. Alternative Names and Cross-references. When persons, places, things

or events are well-known by more than one name, they are in most cases indexed

under all the various terms. When the text gives alternative names or alternative

spellings for a term, either in the heading or in the body of the material, the

index always includes entries for all these alternatives. Even if the text does not

give all the possible alternatives, index entries are made for them unless they

are extremely obscure and numerous.

If there is only one page reference for a term with one or more alternatives,

all of the index entries give the volume and page. An entry in which volume and

page are given is called a direct reference entry. In such entries, the alternatives

are carried in parentheses in each entry. This is done so that the reader can

identify the information on the text page no matter which term is used. It is

also done so that the indexer will know that there are alternative entries:

IICH GATE (Lych gate) 14-35a

Lych gate (Lich gate) 14-35a

If there are two or more page references for a term which has alternatives, all the

page references are put in one entry with all the alternatives in parentheses in the

heading. Then a cross-reference entry is made for each of the alternatives, refer

ring to the main entry. A main entry is one which has all the page references

for a term and its alternatives listed under it. A cross-reference entry is one which

has no page references under it but which refers to another entry which does

carry the references.

LEPROSY (Hansen's disease)

13-957b ; 2-894a fol.; 11-

270a; 21-61b

blindness 3-729c

Main entry Mycrobacterium Leprae Plate

IV fig. 16 2-BACTERI-

OLOGY

Cross-reference Hansen's disease: see Leprosy

entry

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When there is more than one reference for a term with several alternatives,

it is necessary to decide which one of them will be the main entry. If one term is

an article heading, that term is automatically made the main entry because article

headings must appear in the index with the volume and page on which the article

begins.

IE none of the alternatives is an article title and all the entries are lightface,

then the best-known term usually becomes the main entry. In the following

example, " Abbai " and " Bahr el-Azrak " are less well-known to English-speaking

people than " Blue Nile."

Blue Nile (Abbai, Bahr-el-Azrak), riv.,

Sud. 16-448c fol.; l-74n ; 21-506a

crops 12-689b

Fazughli 9-126d

Nubia 16-584d

Sudan campaigns 8-106b

Abbai, riv., Aby.: see Blue Nile

Bahr el-Azrak (Abbai), riv., Af.: see Blue

Nile

There are many thousand cross-references in the index, and a card for each

one is kept in a special file in the indexing department. Each time an indexer

makes a cross-reference in the index, she also makes out a card for the file.

7. Listing Sheets and Record of Pages Indexed. When pages are sent to

the printer, they are grouped in batches and placed in an envelope, and each

envelope is given a number to facilitate keeping track of the pages throughout

the printing process. As envelopes are sent out, the copy recorder makes a list,

in triplicate, of all the pages in each envelope, and one copy of this list is kept in

the indexing department. After an envelope has been completely indexed, and

the cross-reference file and the living persons file have been brought up to date,

the pages in the envelope are checked off on these listing sheets.

Each page is listed, together with article title. To the right of the listing are

blank spaces for the indexer's initials and the date in three different sets, " type ",

" plate " and " revised plate.' When an envelope has been indexed in type proof,

the indexer places her initials and the date at the top of the listing in the section

labelled " type ", and then draws a line downward past every page indexed. The

same procedure is followed for envelopes checked in plate and revised plate. This

gives a complete record of what has been indexed, and towards the end of a

printing the listing sheets are checked for those things that for some reason may

not have come to the indexing department. Any missing pages must, of course,

be found and indexed.

8. The Britannica Book of the Year. The index to the London edition of

the Britannica Book of the Year is in a sense a microcosm of the index of the

Encyclopaedia Britannica itself, except that, for articles, it is cumulative over a

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period of 10 years. Thus each entry for an article in the index gives the editions

of the Year Book in which that article has appeared for the 10 years preceding the

date of the current edition. Because the Britannica Book of the Year is edited and

passed to press over a comparatively short period, the selection of index material

is made in the first instance from galley proofs, the indexable words being under

lined in the usual manner. Page numbers are inserted on the index cards compiled

from the galley proof indexing when the page proofs are available.

9. The Children's Britannica. The object of the Children's Britannica is to

provide a reference work which will be useful and fully intelligible to children of

7-13. The index, in Volume 12 of the work, reflects this policy. Each entry

in the index referring to an article in the body of the set opens with a brief defini

tion of the title of the article, followed by an indication (rather than an explicit

statement) of the contents of the article and ends with subsidiary references to

the subject made elsewhere than in the article itself. In addition, an attempt has

been made to provide a rough and ready guide to the pronunciation of difficult

words which the children are likely to encounter in everyday life. When consider

ing what form this guide to pronunciation should take, we decided that it would

be fruitless to employ an exact phonetic alphabet because most children would be

unable to understand it. Instead, rough phonetic equivalents were given with

accents showing where the stress should fall in pronouncing a multi-syllable word.

Thus the entry HAGGADAH reads as follows:

HAGGADAH (hagarda) Jewish religious

service. What the word means; what

happens in the service and when it is

held 5-21 lb; Moses 6-507b; Passover

7-284a

As with the Encyclopaedia Britannica itself, it is most important that the

children should consult the index before attempting to find information on the

subject in which they are interested. To impress this fact upon them, a number

of decorative " Index Reminders", in the form of small drawings directing the

child to the index, have been scattered throughout the 11 text volumes of

Children's Britannica.

AN INDEXER APPEALS TO AUTHORS

Authors often refer to people by their surnames only. This is all very well

when, let us say, the passage in question deals with the war of 1939-45, and the

name is Churchill. But when the name is Brown, Jones or Robinson, the indexer

is faced with the alternatives of putting Brown, —, in the index (which is felt

to be a confession of failure), or of spending much time with works of reference,

trying to identify Brown, and ascertain his names or initials. The author probably

has these at hand, if not on the tip of his pen; let him have pity on his indexer,

and include them at least once in his text.

M. D. Anderson.