An "index training workshop pilot project" was later set up in co-operation with the School of Library Science (now the Faculty of Information) at the University of Toronto.
The CBSC then sponsored an Open Forum for Indexers and Abstracters on June 12, 1977, at the Canadian Library Association conference in Montreal.
As noted by the SI: It was Canada's bilingualism, reinforced by the influence of a strong contingent of delegates from France, that stimulated consideration – for the first time – of the possibility of moving out of the English-speaking limitations within which we have hitherto operated.
Some specialized skills listed in the Register include glossary writing, HTML encoding, project management, teaching, and thesaurus construction.
And subjects in which Society members specialize run the gamut from art, history, literature, music, political science, psychology, and sociology to alternative medicine, aviation, Canada’s First Nations, community activism, ethics, folklore, home improvement, oceanography, and popular culture.