Patsy Fulton-Calkins, Ph.D. Joanna Davis Hanks, Ed.S. South-Western Educational Publishing Copyright 2000 All Rights Reserved

Records Management Rules and Procedures Chapter 14

Your Goals Learn and use filing rules Identify and use the four basic storage methods Determine the types of paper storage equipment available

Records Management Defined Records management is the systematic control of records over the record life cycle. A record is any type of recorded information. The information may be:

Records Management Defined (cont.) Written and recorded on paper Written and recorded on some type of electronic form or microform An oral record that captures the human voice and is stored on a CD or a tape

Records Management Defined (cont.) stored in an electronic folder Movies stored on videotape Digital photographs stored on disk

Alphabetic Indexing Rules

Rule 1: Indexing Order of Units A. Personal Names A personal name is indexed in this order: (1) surname, (2) first name or initial, (3) middle name or initial. All punctuation is omitted, and a unit consisting of just an initial precedes a unit that consists of a complete name beginning with the same letter. The general rule to follow in all indexing is: nothing comes before something.

Rule 1: Indexing Order of Units (cont.) B. Business Names Business names are indexed as written using letterheads or trademarks as guides. Each word in a business name is a separate unit. Business names containing personal names are indexed as written.

Rule 2: Minor Words and Symbols in Business Names Articles, prepositions, conjunctions, and symbols are considered separate indexing units. Symbols are spelled in full. When the word The appears as the first word of a business name, it is considered the last indexing unit.

Rule 3: Punctuation and Possessives Disregard all punctuation when indexing personal and business names.

Rule 4: Single Letters and Abbreviations A. Personal Names Initials in personal names are considered separate indexing units. Abbreviations of personal names (Wm., Jas.) and brief personal names or nicknames (Dick, Liz) are indexed as written.

Rule 4: Single Letters and Abbreviations (cont.) B. Business Names Single letters in business names are indexed as written. If single letters are separated by spaces, index each letter as a separate unit. Index acronyms and radio and television station call letters as one word. Abbreviated words and names are indexed as one unit regardless of punctuation or spacing.

Rule 5: Titles and Suffixes A. Personal Names A title before a personal name (Dr., Mr., Ms.), a seniority suffix (II, III) or a professional suffix (DDS, MD, PhD) after a name is the last indexing unit. Numeric suffixes (II, III) are filed before alphabetic suffixes (Jr., Sr). If a name contains both a title and a suffix, the title is the last unit. Royal and religious titles followed by either a given name or a surname only are indexed and filed as written. If a person’s professional title comes after the name, it is referred to as a suffix; e.g., CPA, CPS.

Rule 5: Titles and Suffixes (cont.) B. Business Names Titles in business names are indexed as written.

Rule 6: Prefixes--Articles and Particles An article or particle in a personal or business name is combined with the part of the name following it to form a single indexing unit. The indexing order is not affected by a space or punctuation between a prefix and the rest of the name; the space and punctuation are disregarded when indexing. Examples of articles and particles are Da, El, La, San., St., Ste., Van, and Von der.

Rule 7: Numbers in Business Names Numbers spelled out in a business name are considered as written and filed alphabetically. Numbers written in digit form are considered as one unit. Names with numbers as the first unit written in digit form are filed in ascending order before alphabetic names.

Rule 7: Numbers in Business Names (cont.) Arabic numbers (2, 3,) are filed before Roman numerals (II, III). Names with inclusive numbers (33- 37) are arranged with the lowest number only (33). Names with numbers appearing in other than the first position (Pier 36 Café) are filed alphabetically within the appropriate section and immediately before a similar name without a number. When indexing numbers written in digit form that contain nd, rd, st, and th, ignore the letter endings and consider only the digits.

Rule 8: Organizations and Institutions Banks and other financial institutions, clubs, colleges, hospitals, hotels, lodges, motels, museums, religious institutions, schools, universities, and other organizations and institutions are indexed and filed according to the names written on their letterheads. The used as the first word in these names is considered the last filing unit.

Rule 9: Identical Names When personal names and names of businesses, institutions, and organizations are identical, filing order is determined by the addresses. Addresses are considered in the following order: – City name –State or province names –Street names

Rule 10: Government Names Government names are indexed first by the name of the governmental unit--country, state, county, or city. Next, index the distinctive name of the department, bureau, office, or board. The words Office of, Department of, Bureau of, etc., are separate indexing units when they are part of the official name. If of is not a part of the official name as written, it is not added

Storage Methods Alphabetic Numeric Subject Geographic

Alphabetic Storage Advantages It is a direct access system The dictionary order of arrangement is simple to understand Misfiling is easily checked by alphabetic sequence

Alphabetic Storage Advantages (cont.) It may be less costly to operate than other filing methods because of direct access Only one sorting is required Papers relating to one originator are filed in the same location

Alphabetic Storage Disadvantages Misfiling may result when rules are not followed Similarly spelled names may cause confusion when filed under the alphabetic method Related records may be filed in more than one place

Alphabetic Storage Disadvantages (cont.) Expansion records may be filed in more than one place Excessive cross-referencing can congest the files Confidentiality of the files cannot be maintained since the file folders bearing names are instantly seen by anyone who happens to glance at a folder

Subject Storage Advantages Records about one subject are grouped together The system can be expanded easily by adding subdivisions

Subject Storage Disadvantages It is difficult to classify records by subject Liberal cross-referencing is necessary since one record may contain several subjects The system does not satisfactorily provide for general records

Subject Storage Disadvantages (cont.) It is not necessary to keep an index of subject headings contained in the file It is the most expensive method to maintain since it requires very experienced file clerks

Numeric Storage Advantages Expansion is unlimited It is confidential. A card file must be consulted before files on important papers can be located

Numeric Storage Advantages (cont.) Once an index is prepared and a number is assigned to a record, filing by number is quicker than filing alphabetically Misfiled folders are easily located because numbers out of place are easier to locate than misfiled alphabetic records

Numeric Storage Disadvantages It is an indirect method. The card file must be consulted before a paper can be filed More equipment is necessary; therefore, the cost is higher

Geographic Storage Advantages It provides for grouping of records by location The volume of records within any given geographic area can be seen by glancing at the files

Geographic Storage Advantages (cont.) It allows for direct filing if the location is known All the advantages of alphabetic filing are inherent in this method since it is basically an alphabetic arrangement

Geographic Storage Disadvantages Multiple sorting increases the possibility of error and is time consuming The arrangement of guides and folders makes filing more difficult Reference to the card file is necessary if the location is not known

Storing Procedures Inspect Index Code Cross-reference Sort Store

Records Retrieval Requisition form Out guide and out folder

Records Retention Vital records Important records Useful records Nonessential records

Records Transfer Perpetual transfer Periodic transfer

Basic Manual Filing Supplies and Equipment File folders Suspension folders File guides File folder labels

Basic Manual Filing Supplies and Equipment (cont.) Vertical files Lateral files Movable-aisle systems