Offering guidance on indexing and abstracting as practised by published indexing and abstracting services (in paper or electronic form), this title is equally applicable to those concerned with improving subject access in online catalogues. Fully revised to take into account the latest changes since 1998 - especially in the areas of multimedia sources, text searching, automatic indexing and the Internet - it is illustrated throughout with useful indexing and abstracting exercises to guide the practitioner. The areas covered include: indexing principle and practice; pre-coordinate indexes; consistency and quality of indexing; types and functions of abstracts; writing an abstract; good evaluation; approaches used in indexing and abstracting services; enhancing indexing; natural language in information retrieval; machine-aided processes; automatic indexing and abstracting; and the future of indexing and abstracting services. Designed primarily as a text to be used in teaching indexing and abstracting in schools of library and information science, the title should also be useful reading for all individuals and institutions involved in training and related activities, including practising library and information professionals and database producers.