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2007 Hines Award Winner of the America Society of Indexers

Presented by Kate Mertes

Reprinted with permission from Key Words, VOL. 15/NO. 3 JULY – SEPTEMBER 2007.

As chair of the Hines Award Committee, I am pleased to announce that Sandi Schroeder is the recipient of the Hines Award for 2007.

Sandi was nominated by a broad range of fellow indexers who produced an impressive account of her many services to ASI and its members at both chapter and national levels. Sandi has been a member of ASI since 1988, and was largely responsible for resurrecting and maintaining the once-dormant, now vibrant Chicago/Great Lakes chapter; she has served as a chapter officer on many occasions. Sandi is known as a personal mentor of indexers, bringing new people into the field, and training and advising them. She is also a public advocate of the art of indexing, speaking to such organizations as Dominican University library science classes, Chicago Women in Publishing, and the Publishers Marketing Association. One nominator compiled a list of over 20 national offices that Sandi has held since 1997 – as an active board member, committee volunteer, SIG member, and ultimately as president of the society.

Many of Sandi’s nominators supplied personal stories of her indexing advocacy and her support for ASI. For me, Sandi makes me think of “Pirates of the Caribbean.” I first became a director on the national board in 1998, at a time when the Society was going through a great deal of turbulence, including the resignation of many board members. When Sandi took over the vice presidency that summer, it was a bit like being asked to take over a ship in the middle of a force-five hurricane with a rival vessel of marauding pirates bearing down on it. I wouldn’t have blamed her for letting go of the wheel and jumping overboard – I was tempted to do so myself – but she hung onto it instead, and, largely through her own sheer decency, dragged its helm into the wind and steered it into safe waters.

One of Sandi’s signal accomplishments was ensuring that ASI would always have a reliable copilot: she spearheaded the effort to obtain a management organization for ASI, and indeed found and championed The Resource Center. Without that bold and inspired move, many of her successors would not have been able to take on the heretofore time-consuming and income-gobbling role of president, and many of ASI’s current activities (such as the education program) could never have been attempted.

Sandi and her husband are moving to an active over-55 community in Georgia soon, and she SAYS she’s going to retire or at least cut back on her indexing work and responsibilities, although many of her friends don’t entirely believe her. Well Sandi, “home is the sailor, home from the shore,” but those of us sailing the good ship ASI will always have fond tales to tell of you.

She holds a BA from University of North Carolina at Charlotte and has done advanced studies at Northwestern University and at the University of Chicago. Conferences and workshops are attended on a regular basis.