Matthew MacLellan
@matthewmaclellan.bsky.social
working on books (indexing and developmental editing), preserving and cooking food, singing shapenotes, making video.
https://www.matthewmaclellan.com/
https://www.matthewmaclellan.com/
Reposted by Matthew MacLellan
"At this time, AI cannot replace professional book indexers and we are doubtful that it will be able to do so soon, or even at all." #IndexSky
asindexing.org/ai-news/whit....
asindexing.org/ai-news/whit....
ASI releases white paper “LLM-Generated Book Indexes: Can They Replace Professionally Created Indexes?” | American Society for Indexing
We are developing a Statement on AI based on the white paper, which will include guidance for authors, publishers, and indexers; the statement will be released soon.
asindexing.org
August 28, 2025 at 2:14 PM
"At this time, AI cannot replace professional book indexers and we are doubtful that it will be able to do so soon, or even at all." #IndexSky
asindexing.org/ai-news/whit....
asindexing.org/ai-news/whit....
entry of the week: eggs. See also chicken.
and chicken. See also eggs.
after all, who came first?
and chicken. See also eggs.
after all, who came first?
July 25, 2025 at 4:59 PM
entry of the week: eggs. See also chicken.
and chicken. See also eggs.
after all, who came first?
and chicken. See also eggs.
after all, who came first?
new project: on Affrilachia! definitely looking forward to preparing the index and learning from the author on this one.
July 14, 2025 at 4:21 PM
new project: on Affrilachia! definitely looking forward to preparing the index and learning from the author on this one.
i realized this month is my 4 year anniversary of indexing books. 😱
July 9, 2025 at 5:34 PM
i realized this month is my 4 year anniversary of indexing books. 😱
entry of the day: "witness: Louis Armstrong's spit valve as" (assuming it's appreciated and not undesired, by the author)
July 2, 2025 at 11:38 PM
entry of the day: "witness: Louis Armstrong's spit valve as" (assuming it's appreciated and not undesired, by the author)
doesn't happen often, but had a zoom meeting today with an author i'm helping out by indexing their book.
so nice to hear them talk about their experiences with fieldwork, talk about the concepts in their own words separate from the prose of the book.
i took a lot of notes! really humanizing.
so nice to hear them talk about their experiences with fieldwork, talk about the concepts in their own words separate from the prose of the book.
i took a lot of notes! really humanizing.
April 23, 2025 at 12:16 AM
doesn't happen often, but had a zoom meeting today with an author i'm helping out by indexing their book.
so nice to hear them talk about their experiences with fieldwork, talk about the concepts in their own words separate from the prose of the book.
i took a lot of notes! really humanizing.
so nice to hear them talk about their experiences with fieldwork, talk about the concepts in their own words separate from the prose of the book.
i took a lot of notes! really humanizing.
waiting on someone to repair the leaking hot water heater, working on a book i'm in the thick of felt intimidating.
reading the intro to an upcoming book on the "fall" of ecosystem services. a bit outside what i usually read, but excited to learn and offer my organizational lens to the index.
reading the intro to an upcoming book on the "fall" of ecosystem services. a bit outside what i usually read, but excited to learn and offer my organizational lens to the index.
April 15, 2025 at 2:13 PM
waiting on someone to repair the leaking hot water heater, working on a book i'm in the thick of felt intimidating.
reading the intro to an upcoming book on the "fall" of ecosystem services. a bit outside what i usually read, but excited to learn and offer my organizational lens to the index.
reading the intro to an upcoming book on the "fall" of ecosystem services. a bit outside what i usually read, but excited to learn and offer my organizational lens to the index.
i was today years old when i learned it's _remunerative_ and not _renumerative_, so thank you to the sharp-eyed author for that index revisions, i suppose!
April 11, 2025 at 6:54 PM
i was today years old when i learned it's _remunerative_ and not _renumerative_, so thank you to the sharp-eyed author for that index revisions, i suppose!
subheading of the day (or this index?): "mustache" [yes, spelled this way]
April 1, 2025 at 10:13 PM
subheading of the day (or this index?): "mustache" [yes, spelled this way]
celery, tomatoes, peppers, y'all.
March 26, 2025 at 7:00 PM
celery, tomatoes, peppers, y'all.
Reposted by Matthew MacLellan
You can pre-order "Bangkok After Dark," which comes out in less than two weeks, for just $15 via Duke's sale today and tmrw. Among other great books. They have so many.
www.dukeupress.edu/bangkok-afte...
www.dukeupress.edu/bangkok-afte...
March 25, 2025 at 5:56 PM
You can pre-order "Bangkok After Dark," which comes out in less than two weeks, for just $15 via Duke's sale today and tmrw. Among other great books. They have so many.
www.dukeupress.edu/bangkok-afte...
www.dukeupress.edu/bangkok-afte...
meta moment with indexing: making an entry for a writer you've read via Twitter/BlueSky is in hospice. a bit tender and sad!
March 19, 2025 at 6:49 PM
meta moment with indexing: making an entry for a writer you've read via Twitter/BlueSky is in hospice. a bit tender and sad!
Reposted by Matthew MacLellan
Have I told you that a group of indexers volunteered their time and energy to index the monstrosity that is Project 2025? This is NOT made with AI, but only professional indexers. Please bookmark and boost! Share it with journalists!
indexersguidetoproject2025.com
indexersguidetoproject2025.com
January 26, 2025 at 12:29 AM
Have I told you that a group of indexers volunteered their time and energy to index the monstrosity that is Project 2025? This is NOT made with AI, but only professional indexers. Please bookmark and boost! Share it with journalists!
indexersguidetoproject2025.com
indexersguidetoproject2025.com
the flurry of friday PM admin emails is reminding me to schedule mine for another day 🤭
January 17, 2025 at 7:05 PM
the flurry of friday PM admin emails is reminding me to schedule mine for another day 🤭
indexing lots of art history this week—kind of gives me the warm fuzzies reading about artists i was introduced to in (quirky!) classes in formative years at SFU.
January 17, 2025 at 11:44 AM
indexing lots of art history this week—kind of gives me the warm fuzzies reading about artists i was introduced to in (quirky!) classes in formative years at SFU.
Reposted by Matthew MacLellan
Pathways (9,8) • 2022
January 4, 2025 at 6:43 PM
Pathways (9,8) • 2022
fervently hoping nothing comes up that will stop "mistresses" and "misogyny" from sorting next to each other in this index. not REALLY related, but it is indeed slightly delightful.
December 22, 2024 at 1:34 AM
fervently hoping nothing comes up that will stop "mistresses" and "misogyny" from sorting next to each other in this index. not REALLY related, but it is indeed slightly delightful.
just summer things
September 10, 2024 at 9:48 PM
just summer things
trauma theory and the Gospel of John? yes, i am lucky with my work, indeed.
September 7, 2024 at 2:10 AM
trauma theory and the Gospel of John? yes, i am lucky with my work, indeed.
new "year" almost here, so a reminder that i'm still indexing books! people seem to like how i index their books that involve some kind of crit. theory element.
art books and cookbooks also make me happy.
more on my site! matthewmaclellan.com
art books and cookbooks also make me happy.
more on my site! matthewmaclellan.com
Matthew MacLellan, Book Indexer
A back-of-the-book indexer for scholarly texts across the humanities. Critical theory, film/video studies, musicology, visual culture, queer thought, theology.
matthewmaclellan.com
August 25, 2024 at 10:59 PM
new "year" almost here, so a reminder that i'm still indexing books! people seem to like how i index their books that involve some kind of crit. theory element.
art books and cookbooks also make me happy.
more on my site! matthewmaclellan.com
art books and cookbooks also make me happy.
more on my site! matthewmaclellan.com
Reposted by Matthew MacLellan
One thing you notice when handselling books at a conference like #SMH2024 is the importance of the index—notable how many browsers consult it before buying (or not buying) a book.
April 20, 2024 at 9:10 PM
One thing you notice when handselling books at a conference like #SMH2024 is the importance of the index—notable how many browsers consult it before buying (or not buying) a book.
this week: indexing a book with a land acknowledgment included as part of the front matter.
March 15, 2024 at 7:00 PM
this week: indexing a book with a land acknowledgment included as part of the front matter.
i've been indexing an experimental ethnography on higher education the past few weeks. most of the comp titles for similar books don't have indexes, so it was a challenge. glad for positive initial feedback from the authors, and now we can refine together for the tiny, tiny details.
February 23, 2024 at 7:20 AM
i've been indexing an experimental ethnography on higher education the past few weeks. most of the comp titles for similar books don't have indexes, so it was a challenge. glad for positive initial feedback from the authors, and now we can refine together for the tiny, tiny details.
you know, it's not often i write an index where "Z" is the letter with the most entries!
February 21, 2024 at 2:57 AM
you know, it's not often i write an index where "Z" is the letter with the most entries!
see also: bad ideas; precarity.
Has AI disrupted the Book Indexing Industrial Complex yet? Would be cool if we could get the price on that down to like five bucks. Make publishers slap an index on everything, fiction included.
February 17, 2024 at 10:47 PM
see also: bad ideas; precarity.