Indexing Books will be welcomed by authors and professional indexers as a much-needed guide to index preparation that is thorough, accessible, well organized, and up-to-date.

Nancy C. Mulvany builds on various style guides, particularly The Chicago Manual of Style's extensive chapter on indexing. She expands its treatment of mechanics with more in-depth discussions of analysis and editorial judgment calls--deciding what is and what is not indexable, and establishing the structure of entries. She also discusses the concept of indexing and how it fits into the publishing process; deciding when to prepare one's own index and when to hire a professional; deciphering publishers' indexing guidelines; and choosing appropriate software.

Mulvany's evaluation of available embedded and dedicated software is especially useful as a current guide to what works best for which tasks. While she advocates use of computers for certain tasks, she demonstrates that no software can replace the analysis provided by a good indexer.