What is an index?

The pamphlet opens with a historical survey of the word index and its shifting meanings, tracing early usages, notable opinions, and illustrative specimens; it then provides practical guidance on making indexes, covering compilation techniques, concise and accurate headings, alphabetical order versus classification, treatment of names and prefixes, cross-references, and frequent errors; examples and critiques are used throughout to show good and bad practice and to argue for organized efforts to improve indexing standards.