The records of the American Society of Indexers date from the organizations early years in the late 1960s to as recent as the 2000s, and document the members of the society as well as the society’s activities. The collection is comprised of the following series: Administrative Files, Correspondence, Committees, Meetings, Events, Publications, Chapters, Awards, Other Organizations of Interest, and Multimedia.
Administrative Files (1968-2000, 4 linear feet) documents the organizational activities of ASI including constitution and bylaws, elections, financial documents, general topical files, organizational history, membership, and policies and procedures.
Correspondence (1981-2000, .5 linear feet) consists of the ASI related correspondence of the organization's elected officials, as well as inquiries from members and non members.
The Committees (1974-2006, .5 linear feet) series is comprised of papers relating to and originating from various ASI committees.
Meetings (1981-2000, 1.5 linear feet) documents the meeting materials generated by the board of directors of ASI, and including agendas and minutes. Additionally, this series contains papers relating to business meetings and special meetings held by the organization.
Events (1982-2000, .5 linear feet) consists of papers related to various events held and attended by ASI, including annual meetings and conferences, professional development workshop, and various symposia and workshops.
The Publications (1961-2000, 2.25 linear feet) series is comprised of various documents published by ASI, including newsletters and registers. This series also contains correspondence relating to the newsletter, register, and other publications, as well as reports detailing publication sales.
Chapters (1983-1997, .25 linear feet) consists of papers documenting the various chapters of ASI spread throughout the United States, as well as chapter manuals and general chapter information.
The Awards (1978-2000, .25 linear feet) series documents the various indexing awards given out by ASI, as well as related forms and criteria for selection.
Other Organizations of Interest (1972-1997, .5 linear feet) documents numerous outside organizations with which ASI is affiliated or otherwise interested in. This series includes the newsletters of a number of these organizations.
Multimedia (1970-1995, 1 linear foot) consists of items in a variety of formats created by ASI, including photographs, audio cassettes, and microfilm. The photographs and audio cassettes largely document annual conferences.
The origin of the American Society of Indexers (ASI) can be traced to the British indexing professional organization, the Society of Indexers (SI). SI was originally organized in early 1957, and has, since its inception, included members from the United States. Prominent early American members included Robert Palmer and Theodore Hines, both of whom contributed articles to SI's biannual publication, "The Indexer."
By 1967, there were 31 individual members and 7 institutional members of SI in the United States. That year, two library students, Mary Flad and Alan Greengrass proposed the formation of an American counterpart to SI, and organized a meeting to that effect to be held in April 1968 and chaired by Theodore Hines.
On November 18, 1968, the first formal board meeting of the American Society of Indexers was held. At this meeting, Alan Greengrass was elected president pro tem, Jessica Harris (a fellow student of Greengrass') became secretary, and Robert Palmer drew up the constitution for the organization.
It is interesting to note that since ASI's beginning, the organization has been closely affiliated with SI. Robert Palmer, acting as liaison between the societies, arranged for the formal affiliation of the two bodies around the time ASI was being founded. The close relationship continues to the present, with ASI being named as a formal cosponsor of "The Indexer," and the two associations reciprocating some of their membership benefits.
The first annual meeting was held on the 16th of June 1969, at which time the total number of members in the organization was 146. Membership has grown considerably over the decades, reaching as many as 1300 in the mid-1990s. As of December 2007, the membership had settled to 676.
Since its formation, the goals of ASI have included promoting excellence in indexing and increasing awareness of the value of well-written and well-designed indexes. Additionally, the organization strives to provide educational resources to its members, as well as various means for members to communicate (meetings, directories, etc.), to promote indexing standards, and to act as a liaison between indexers and other information science organizations.
In March 2008, the Society formally changed its name to the American Society for Indexing.
