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Enhancing eBook Indexing Techniques for Improved User Experience

Discover the challenges and solutions for eBook indexing, including cognitive mapping, screen-based indexes, redundancy, and implementation strategies. Learn how to optimize eBooks for better navigation and search capabilities.

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Enhancing eBook Indexing Techniques for Improved User Experience

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  1. Jan Wright Wright Information Indexing Services www.wrightinformation.com jancw@wrightinformation.com American Society for Indexing www.asindexing.org Indexing in eBooks and eContent Adding Value

  2. Current eBook indexing • Missing, or • Static, or • Linked, but not to precise paragraph • Index as chapter at end, not 
integrated navigation tool • Hard to get to • Hard to return and search again • Hard to browse, especially in 2-column format

  3. Using eBook indexes now

  4. Amazon’s X-Ray

  5. Precision vs. recall 13 screens of results 51 total hits In chronological order Ferris Wheel, 208, 305, 373 in construction, 193-94, 218, 228, 236, 
 239, 240, 255, 280 final days of, 380-81
 operation of, 279-81, 284, 287-88, 
 299, 300, 302, 327 romance on, 306-7 test runs of, 258-61, 269-73

  6. Reader’s mental patterns and search behaviors • Readers come to texts at differing times: • Never read the book, and need to know if it contains their search concept • Read the book, and knows the concept is in there, but where? • Asking a question, and when reading information, rephrases or narrows or changes the question • Search has stages, and we need to serve all the stages – it is as if we are conversing at each stage, not just feeding more Google results

  7. Cognitive mapping • Reading styles for learning or pleasure, fiction or non-fiction differ • For learning, readers use physical cues such as location on page or position in book to go back and find sections of text • eReaders disrupt that mapping • Skimming is another behavior that is disrupted • Physically marking up text in textbooks helps memory – difficult but becoming easier on eReaders • Navigation: new-to-the-book, new-to-the-ereader, experts, or those who have read a book completely • Univ. of Washington Study: http://bit.ly/johDP2

  8. Screen-based indexes • As important as “Search” • Navigation in nonfiction – critical! • Adds browsability and helps readers expand their ideas and phrasing • Pre-analysis (pre-coordination vs. post-coordination) • Conversation with the reader • Needs to be included in eventual interfaces for eReaders • Re-use - Source of metadata and aboutness at a paragraph level • Sales tool - Look Inside This Book - should be included in all free downloads!

  9. History of on-screen indexes Mimicking a paper interface – doesn’t work well onscreen

  10. Redundancy • “Redundancy is the antidote to confusion” – James Gleick

  11. Implementation • Accessible from every page • “Find” should be reflecting the best hits, as identified by index • Show results as snippets of text in context • Searched word should show entries below, subheads, closely-related words • Cross references to help refine search phrasing • Remembers you have been there before and saves your place • Mode 1: full index browseability as chapter • Mode 2: combined in a search window with a type-in field • Mode 3: semantic underpinnings – map of topics

  12. Demo

  13. What can be done now? • Get ready for eventual use of scripts and Fragment IDs in ePub 3.0 • Develop an unique ID scheme for paragraphs, and add unique IDs in content, ready for scripting • Tag at the paragraph level with index entries, or develop a way to link your index to anchors in the paragraphs • Include linked indexes now as back-of-the-file chapters • Get radical and put indexes in front: they will get searched first! • Assess usability of interactive index interfaces to decide what’s best for your readers • Plan for re-use of index metadata: wikis, handhelds, print, web pages

  14. What else do we need to get active indexes • Software tools • Programming resources • Outreach efforts • Quality assurance/testing procedures for scripted indexes and interfaces • Buy-in from eBook and eReader industry • Membership on standards committees • Workflow ideas: publishers and indexer need to work out a process for including the metadata

  15. Resources • Quick and Dirty Look at iBooks Author Index/Glossary:
http://bit.ly/x5mMIC • “The Devil is in the Details: Indexes vs. Amazon’s X-Ray,” The Indexer, 1012 (forthcoming) • American Society for Indexing’s Digital Trends Task Force (DTTF): http://bit.ly/rFp0Re (Many links from this page) • IDPF ePub Indexes Proposal: http://bit.ly/zy4tyg • ePub 3.0 Indexes Working Group: http://bit.ly/uqKwD7 • UC Libraries Academic e-Book Usage Survey: http://bit.ly/k4G4SS • Univ. Washington Kindle academic study: http://bit.ly/johDP2 • Stephen Fry’s MyFry: http://bit.ly/johDP2

  16. Contact us! • Jan Wright – jancw@wrightinformation.comwww.wrightinformation.com@windexingwww.facebook.com/pages/Wright-Information-Indexing-Services • American Society for Indexingwww.asindexing.orgdttf@asindexing.orgwww.asindexing.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=3647

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