Library of Formatting Examples:Index/09A

Page image

Correctly formatted text

/*

Blunt, Mr. Wilfrid, i. 261

Borthwick, Sir A., i. 258; ii. 431

Bradford speeches, ii. 175, 177

Budget:
  amendment (1885), i. 398, 405
  work of, i. 143, 149, 230; ii. 150
*/

Multi-volume indexes

This is from an index for a two-volume set. Such indexes are printed in different ways, but all of them will have a way of indicating the Volume to which the page(s) refer. For formatters, what matters is that the entire list of pages for any entry or sub-entry should be on the same line as that entry (or sub-entry), even if a semi-colon is used to separate the pages of one volume from those of the next. In this context, the semi-colon does not mean a new sub-entry is about to start, and we do not put the rest of the list on a new line.

In this example, "Blunt" has just one reference, and it's to volume i. "Borthwick" has two references, one to each volume, separated by a semi-colon. Both references go on the same line. "Bradford" has two references, both of which are to volume ii. "Budget" has two sub-entries: "amendment" has two references, both in volume i, while "work of" has references to both volumes. The semi-colon in its list does not mark the beginning of a new sub-entry: in this context, it's just a separator in the reference list.