Should You Index Your Own Textbook?

By Ken Saladin

Most authors may not want to index their own textbooks. Indexing has to be done quickly when paginated proofs become available, yet it comes at a time when we’re very busy proofreading the final pages, writing front matter, and getting the book to press. It also must look, to most, like a tedious chore. It may seem better left to a professional indexer, even if the cost is borne by the author.

Even aside from the cost, there are good reasons to leave it to the pros. Indexing is a complex skill that requires understanding of not just the book’s subject matter, but its audience, the publisher’s practices, and the stylistic mechanics of good versus amateurish and dysfunctional indexes.

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Textbook pedagogy: Improving chapter summaries encourages collaborative learning

In my field, human anatomy and physiology (A&P), like many others, it is customary to end each textbook chapter with a concept review and self-testing exercises. For the first five editions of my Anatomy & Physiology—The Unity of Form and Function, I titled my end-of-chapter feature “Chapter Review” and its first section, “Review of Key Concepts.” I followed the traditional practice of summarizing the chapter in short declarative sentences like these:

  • Microvilli are short surface extensions of the plasma membrane that increase a cell’s surface area. They are especially well developed on absorptive cells, as in the kidney and small intestine. On some cells, they play a sensory role.
  • Parathyroid hormone is secreted by the parathyroid glands in response to hypocalcemia. It raises blood Ca2+ levels by indirectly stimulating osteoclasts, inhibiting osteoblasts, promoting calcitriol synthesis, and promoting Ca2+ conservation by the kidneys.

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