Zahra Tarizadeh; Golnessa Galyani-Moghaddm; Ali Jalali Dizaji
Abstract
Background and Objectives: The purpose of this study was to analyze “back-of-the-book” indexes published by Allameh Tabataba'i University Press from the beginning (1984) through 2017, based on the ISO 999 standard and the indexing evaluation checklist recommended by the American Society for ...
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Background and Objectives: The purpose of this study was to analyze “back-of-the-book” indexes published by Allameh Tabataba'i University Press from the beginning (1984) through 2017, based on the ISO 999 standard and the indexing evaluation checklist recommended by the American Society for Indexing. For librarian, in evaluating a book, having an index is one of the important criteria and indicators often prepared by the author or indexer.
The index is important because it is a systematic guide to the contents of any type of writing (such as books, journals, newspapers, databases, etc.) in which the main entries are arranged in a specific order with reference to location in the original text. In fact, the index can be called as a link between the producer and the user of information, which helps the user to easily and quickly access the required knowledge. Indexes are not the goals themselves, but a tool to help users find the information they need to solve their problems. The index entries direct users to information in the original text that may be useful.
It should be noted, however, that publishers of books and their policies also play an important role in shaping the final indexes. On the other hand, it is usually expected at least academic publishers should pay attention to this. In this research, books published by Allameh Tabatabai University Press as an academic publisher have been selected.
Methodology: This is an applied research and quantitative-descriptive and correlation study. The data were collected using two checklists and by direct observation of the books and their own indexes. The population of the study was all books published by the Allameh Tabataba'i University Press in any subject through the end of 2017. In this study, content validity method has been used to assess the validity of the evaluation checklist. No sampling has been done and all books published by Allameh Tabatabai University Press have been studied
Findings: Allameh Tabatabai University Press has published its first book, entitled "Literature and Writing" in 1984. Also, there were one book title in English and one book title in Arabic. Out of 427 titles of the studied books, about 1.4% (6 titles of books) are of reference books and 421 titles, about 98.59% are non-reference books. Out of 80 indexed books, compiled books with 56.25% (45 titles) constitute the largest volume of the statistical population. Translated books also make up 43.75% (35 book titles) of books containing indexes.
Discussion: The findings of this study showed that out of 427 books assessed, 80 (19%) had back-of-the book indexes and 347 titles (81%) had no indexes. This means the most books published by Allameh Tabataba'i University Press lack indexes. According to the results, it can be concluded that the books published by Allameh Tabatabai University Press generally are not in a good condition in terms of the back-of-the book indexes, and this publisher did not pay much attention to the back-of-the book indexes for the published books. For the books having indexes, 65/70%of the indexes were compatible with the checklist of American Society for Indexing and 78/52% of the indexes were compatible with the ISO 999 standard. If we consider the 50% point as a medium, it can be said that the rate of compatibility of indexes with both standards stands above the average for the criteria used. But since compliance with ISO 999 is nearly 12/82 percent higher than that of the checklist by American Society for Indexing, it can be argued that compliance with ISO 999 is in a better position. The article provides original information about the “back-of-the-book” indexes published by Allameh Tabataba'i University Press from 1984 through 2017.
