About ICRIS (International Committee of Representatives of Indexing Societies)

International relations between indexing societies and associated groups or networks are governed by the International Agreement of Indexing Societies, originally concluded in 1999 and amended at Triennial Meetings in 2006, 2009, 2012, 2015 and 2018. Integral to the International Agreement are arrangements relating to The Indexer. For an account of how these relations developed see ‘A short history of matters international’ (Jill Halliday, The Indexer, 30(3), pp. 148-50).

Affiliated societies

• AFEPI Ireland (Association of Editors, Proofreaders and Indexers of Ireland)
• ANZSI (Australian and New Zealand Society of Indexers)
• ASAIB (Association of Southern African Indexers and Bibliographers)
• ASI (American Society for Indexing)
• CSI (China Society of Indexers)
• ISC/SCI (Indexing Society of Canada / Société canadienne d’indexation)
• SI ([British and Irish] Society of Indexers)

Associate groups and networks

• DNI (Deutsches Netzwerk der Indexer/German Indexing Network)
• NIN (Nederlands Indexers Netwerk/Netherlands Indexing Network)

Conducting ICRIS business

The international coordinator(s) (appointed at each Triennial Meeting), and currently Caroline Diepeveen and Pierke Bosschieter (NIN), are responsible for the management of ICRIS business.

Formal business is transacted at Triennial Meetings, the main business being to review the International Agreement. Responsibility for hosting Triennial Meetings rotates between the societies. Dates, venues and hosting guidelines are in the Terms of Reference.

Informal meetings take place in the margin of society conferences. In addition to international liaisons (or their nominees) it is the practice to invite others attending the conference in question with international or Indexer interests. Decisions at these meetings are limited to routine management matters, but may include recommendations for submission to the next Triennial Meeting. See the date of the next meeting.

Ongoing liaison is conducted via the ICRIS listserv as detailed in the Terms of Reference. The list membership includes one or two Society/Associate appointees in addition to their liaison, and a second Indexer representative.