Back-of-the-book indexing in the Netherlands today

Where is the evidence? A review of the literature on the usability of book indexes

“…Users might describe concordances as indexes and expect to find nothing more than lists of words taken from the text in the 'index', or assume that by using search functions in digital products they are able to 'index' as well as the professionals. The sophisticated systems that professional indexers use to create their product might not be understood by users or even by publishers and editors (Bosschieter, 2006;Lipetz, 1989). It is beyond the scope of this review to discuss the art of book indexing, but the fundamental question of whether readers understand that there is such a process should not Coe: Where is the evidence?…”