The 12 Rules of Filing
(Information organization & management)
(Based on
Established Rules of ARMA)
Alphabetic Indexing Rules and Procedures Learning Objectives:
Every business must develop and maintain an organized way to store written communication, such as reports, letters, memorandums, order forms, invoices, and other such information so that it is available for efficient retrieval or reference. This method of storing records is called filing. While there are a number of different methods for storing or filing information – alphabetic, subject, numeric, and geographic - the most common method is the alphabetic filing system. Procedures for storing records alphabetically will vary among organizations and even among departments within an organization. Therefore, the filing procedures to be used in any one office needs to be determined, recorded, approved, and followed, without exception. Without written rules for storing records, procedures will vary with time, changes in personnel, etc. These changes could cause difficulty in future retrieval of records or even in the loss of records. The Association of Records Managers and Administrators, Inc. (ARMA) is an organization designed to help professionals in records management perform their jobs easier and better. ARMA has published a list of Alphabetic Filing Rules, containing standard rules for storing records alphabetically. The 12 rules you will learn in this chapter follow the same principles as the ARMA rules. Basic Filing TermsBefore learning the 12 filing rules, an understanding of filing terms is necessary.
· Alphabetizing Unit by Unit. The first step in alphabetizing is to alphabetize Unit by Unit. If the names in Unit 1 are exactly the same, then continue to alphabetize by Unit 2. If the first and second units are the same, the next step is to alphabetize Unit 3, and so on.
· Nothing Comes Before Something. In alphabetizing, it is important to remember that nothing comes before something.
Case - The case of a letter refers to whether the letter is written as a capital letter (A), called uppercase, or written as a small letter (a), called lowercase. In alphabetizing, uppercase and lowercase letters are considered the same. For example, McAdams and Mcadams are considered to be exactly the same when alphabetizing
|
The 12 Rules
Rule 1 |
Names of Individuals. When indexing the name of an individual, arrange the units in this order: last name as Unit 1, first name or initial as Unit 2, and middle name or initial as Unit 3. When two names in Unit 1 begin with the same letter, you consider the next or second letter in arranging for alphabetical order. If both the first and second letters are the same, consider the third letter, and so on until the letters are different. |
A unit consisting of just an initial precedes a unit that
consists of a complete name beginning with the same letter.
Punctuation, such as a period or apostrophe, is omitted. |
NAME |
UNIT 1 |
UNIT 2 |
UNIT 3 |
Rebecca P. Adams |
ADAMS |
REBECCA |
P |
Susan B. Anderson |
ANDERSON |
SUSAN |
B |
Terri Anderson |
ANDERSON |
TERRI |
|
William Ken Jackson |
JACKSON |
WILLIAM |
KEN |
William Johnson |
JOHNSON |
WILLIAM |
|
Wilma Johnson |
JOHNSON |
WILMA |
|
Frank Shields |
SHIELDS |
FRANK |
|
Frank B. Shields |
SHIELDS |
FRANK |
B |
Debbie Shirley |
SHIRLEY |
DEBBIE |
|
Ann Marie Williams |
WILLIAMS |
ANN |
MARIE |
Anna Williams |
WILLIAMS |
ANNA |
|
David Williamson |
WILLIAMSON |
DAVID |
|
Exercise #1: |
|
- Jackson
- Allen Billings
- Anna Smith
- Victory Anderson
- Debbie Southern
- Harry J. Williams
- Della Jack
- Teresa Ross
- William Southerly
- Hank Williams
- Vicki A. Anderson
- Ann Marie Smith
Rule 2 | Personal Names with Prefixes – Articles and Particles. Prefixes, such as Mc in McAdams is considered as part of the name it precedes. Ignore any apostrophe or space that may appear within or after the prefix. | |
Commonly used prefixes are a, la, d’ D’ de, De, Del, De la, Di, Du, El, Fitz, La, Le, Lo, Los, M’, Mac, Mc, O’, Saint, St., Ste., Te, Ter, Van, Van de, Van der, Von, and Von der. |
NAME |
UNIT 1 |
UNIT 2 |
UNIT 3 |
Olivia DuBerry |
DUBERRY |
OLIVIA |
|
Paul Duberry |
DUBERRY |
PAUL |
|
Anna L’Aubourne |
LAUBORNE |
ANNA |
|
Chuck B. Launders |
LAUNDERS |
CHUCK |
B |
Jerry A. Mcdonald |
MCDONALD |
JERRY |
A |
Terri C. McDonald |
MCDONALD |
TERRI |
C |
Celeste Van Ivan |
VANIVAN |
CELESTE |
|
John Vanivan |
VANIVAN |
JOHN |
|
Exercise #2: | Index and alphabetize the following names. Present your work in the same format as in previous examples (table layout with unit headings). Write names in all capital letters; do not include any punctuation. |
Elise Van Der Hoff
Kelli O’Neal
Jack TenClay
Paul Mcdouglas
George Von Lowell
Charles Van Metry
Sylvia D’Champ
Lisa McVey
Wilma LaVoy
Cynthia VanMetry
Vanessa McAnderson
Elli McDougal
Rule 3 |
Hyphenated Personal Names. Consider a hyphenated first,
middle, or last name |
NAME |
UNIT 1 |
UNIT 2 |
UNIT 3 |
Valerie Anderson-Smith |
ANDERSONSMITH |
VALERIE |
|
Jason DeTemple |
DETEMPLE |
JASON |
|
Tammy DeTemple-Jones |
DETEMPLEJONES |
TAMMY |
|
Gary Shawn Lee |
LEE |
GARY |
SHAWN |
Alison Shawn-Lee |
SHAWNLEE |
ALISON |
|
Kay-Lu S. Shuttle |
SHUTTLE |
KAYLU |
S |
Exercise #3: |
|
- Linda Harper-Hoff
- Patrick Wang
- Shelly-Lee Ackerman
- Holly Jamison
- Tracy H. Hoff
- Gina James-Ackerman
- Luke DeJoy
- Jackie Wang-Lu
- Yvette Duke-Williamson
- Angela-Marie D’Everson
Rule 4 |
Single Letters and Abbreviations of Personal Names. Initials in personal names (J.D., A.J.) are considered separate indexing units. Abbreviations of personal names (Wm., Jos.) and nicknames (Bill, Rick, Ali) are indexed as they are written. |
NAME |
UNIT 1 |
UNIT 2 |
UNIT 3 |
A. J. Anderson |
ANDERSON |
A |
J |
Liz Billings |
BILLINGS |
LIZ |
|
Lou Chandler |
CHANDLER |
LOU |
|
Wm. Danielson |
DANIELSON |
WM |
|
T. J. Sampson |
SAMPSON |
T |
J |
Geo. T. Vickory |
VICKORY |
GEO |
T |
Exercise #4: |
Index and alphabetize the following names. Present your work in the same format as in previous examples (table layout with unit headings). Write names in all capital letters; do not include any punctuation. |
- B.J. Tassleman
Rule 5 |
Personal Names With Titles and Suffixes. When used with a person’s name, a title or a suffix is the last indexing unit when needed to distinguish between two or more identical names. A title appears before a name (Capt., Dr., Miss, Mr., Mrs., Ms., Prof., Sgt.). Suffixes appear after a name and include seniority terms (II, III, Jr., Sr.) and professional designations (CPA, CRM, CMA, MD, Ph.D.). Some terms may appear either before or after the name (Senator, Mayor). If a name contains both a title and a suffix, the title is the last unit. |
Royal and religious titles (King, Queen,
Prince, Princess, Father, Sister) are
considered professional
designation suffixes unless they are followed by either a
given name or
a surname only (Father John, Princess Anna) in which case, they
are indexed as written.
NAME |
UNIT 1 |
UNIT 2 |
UNIT 3 |
Unit 4 |
Susan Bilderson, CPA |
BILDERSON |
SUSAN |
CPA |
|
Father John |
FATHER |
JOHN |
|
|
Mrs. Anna Jones |
JONES |
ANNA |
MRS |
|
King Abdula |
KING |
ABDULA |
|
|
Mrs. Judy Lenderman |
LENDERMAN |
JUDY |
MRS |
|
Ms. Judy Lenderman |
LENDERMAN |
JUDY |
MS |
|
Sister Mary Smith |
SMITH |
MARY |
SISTER |
|
Peter K Teasdale III |
TEASDALE |
PETER |
K |
III |
Mr. Joshua Wade, Jr. |
WADE |
JOSHUA |
JR |
MR |
Dr. Frank Williams |
WILLIAMS |
FRANK |
DR |
|
Exercise #5: |
Index and alphabetize the following names. Present your work in the same format as in previous examples (table layout with unit headings). Write names in all capital letters; do not include any punctuation. |
Rule 6 |
Names of Businesses and Organizations. Business names are indexed as written using the letterhead or trademark as a guide. If the letterhead is not available, use sources such as directories (phone, Internet) and advertisements. |
Each word in a business name is a separate
unit. Exception: When The is the
first word of the
business name, it is treated as the last unit. Business names
containing
personal names are
indexed as written. Hyphenated names and
names with
prefixes are considered one unit.
NAME |
UNIT 1 |
UNIT 2 |
UNIT 3 |
UNIT 4 |
Betty’s Boutique |
BETTYS |
BOUTIQUE |
|
|
The Bottom Dollar Store |
BOTTOM |
DOLLAR |
STORE |
THE |
Computers and Such |
COMPUTERS |
AND |
SUCH |
|
Computers Are Us |
COMPUTERS |
ARE |
US |
|
Cpt. John’s Seafood House |
CPT |
JOHNS |
SEAFOOD |
HOUSE |
Doug Tevor Hauling |
DOUG |
TREVOR |
HAULING |
|
Dr. Allen’s Tree Repair |
DR |
ALLENS |
TREE |
REPAIR |
El Amigo Mexican Restaurant |
ELAMIGO |
MEXICAN |
RESTAURANT |
|
EZ Travel Agency |
EZ |
TRAVEL |
AGENCY |
|
St. Paul Lawn Care |
STPAUL |
LAWN |
CARE |
|
The Worthington Coat Factory |
WORTHINGTON |
COAT |
FACTORY |
THE |
Zachery Grey Daily News |
ZACHERY |
GREY |
DAILY |
NEWS |
Exercise #6: |
|
- The Paris Daily News
- Bank of London
- South West Lawn Care
- Sgt. Pepper Clothing Accessories
- The Bank of Loylds
- El Camino Horse Club
- Betty Johnson Elementary School
Rule 7 |
Letters and Abbreviations in Business and Organization Names. Single letters in business and organization names are indexed as written. If single letters are separated by spaces, index each letter as a separate unit. An acronym (word formed from the first few letters of several words, such as ARMA and F.I.C.A,) is indexed as one unit regardless of punctuation or spacing. |
Abbreviated words (Mfg, Co., Corp., Inc.) and
names (IBM, GE) are indexed as written and as one
unit regardless of
punctuation or spacing. Radio and television station call letters (WBCO,
ABC)
are also indexed as written and as one unit.
NAME |
UNIT 1 |
UNIT 2 |
UNIT 3 |
UNIT 4 |
A K Electric |
A |
K |
ELECTRIC |
|
A OK Restaurant |
A |
OK |
RESTAURANT |
|
ACE Repair Co. |
ACE |
REPAIR |
CO |
|
KKRS Radio Station |
KKRS |
RADIO |
STATION |
|
L A N Industries |
L |
A |
N |
INDUSTRIES |
LAN, Inc |
LAN |
INC |
|
|
Regal Mfg. Corp. |
REGAL |
MFG |
CORP |
|
US Bank |
US |
BANK |
|
|
USA Today |
USA |
TODAY |
|
|
Exercise #7: |
|
- V. J. Golf Course
- Carpets Ltd. of CA
- OK Tire Center
- Garner and Garner, Attys.
- KHTY Radio Station
- Kellie Hiring Agy.
- Dr. Pepper Bottling Co.
- C. K. W. Towing
- Fashion Corner, Ltd.
- GTE Electric Co.
Rule 8 |
Punctuation and Possessives in Business and Organization Names. All punctuation is ignored when indexing business and organization names. Commas, periods, hyphens, apostrophes, dashes, exclamation points, question marks, quotation marks, and diagonals (/) are disregarded and names are indexed as written. |
NAME |
UNIT 1 |
UNIT 2 |
UNIT 3 |
UNIT 4 |
All-in-One Pawn Shop |
ALLINONE |
PAWN |
SHOP |
|
Bob’s Rent-a-Car |
BOBS |
RENTACAR |
|
|
The Crow’s Nest |
CROWS |
NEST |
THE |
|
How Much? Thrift Store |
HOW |
MUCH |
THRIFT |
STORE |
Inside/Outside Glass |
INSIDEOUTSIDE |
GLASS |
|
|
Jack-N-Jerry Catering |
JACKNJERRY |
CATERING |
|
|
The Pepper! |
PEPPER |
THE |
|
|
Exercise #8: |
|
- The Rod-N-Reel Shop
- Nor-East Import’s
- Do-Rite Medical Supplies
- Sam’s Hot-Dog Café
- Lu-Lu’s Clothing Outlet
- Debbie’s Lil’ Tots Daycare
- How’s That? Hotel
- The On/Off Freeway Café
- Nell-Carter Law Firm
- A-OK Repair Service
Rule 9 |
Numbers in Business and Organization Names. Arabic numbers written in digits (1,15,189) and Roman numerals (II, IV, IX) are considered one unit and are filed in numeric order before alphabetic characters with Arabic numbers preceding Roman numerals (2, 156, III, XIV). |
NAME |
UNIT 1 |
UNIT 2 |
UNIT 3 |
UNIT 4 |
1-2-3 Easy Shopping |
1 |
EASY |
SHOPPING |
|
1 Stop Shopping Center |
1 |
STOP |
SHOPPING |
CENTER |
4th Street Market |
4 |
STREET |
MARKET |
|
7-Days Extended Inn |
7DAYS |
EXTENDED |
INN |
|
XXI Movie Theatre |
XXI |
MOVIE |
THEATRE |
|
Annie’s Buffet |
ANNIES |
BUFFET |
|
|
Gary’s 9-Way Service Co. |
GARYS |
9WAY |
SERVICE |
CO |
Gary’s Auto Repair |
GARYS |
AUTO |
REPAIR |
|
Twenty Mile Steak House |
TWENTY |
MILE |
STEAK |
HOUSE |
Twenty-First Street Photo |
TWENTYFIRST |
STREET |
PHOTO |
|
Exercise #9: |
|
- 99 Flavors Yogurt Shoppe
- 1 More Time Clothing
- The Makco Five, Inc.
- 7th Street Pharmacy
- Henry IV Restaurant
- 2nd-Hand Music Equipment
- Makco 5 Gas Station
- Fifty-Fifty Auction Market
- Sixth Dimension Insurance Co.
- 6th Avenue Apts.
Rule 10 |
Symbols in Business and Organization Names. If a symbol is part of a name, the symbol is indexed as if spelled out. When a symbol is used with a number without spacing between ($5, #1), it is considered one unit and the symbol is spelled out (5DOLLAR, NUMBER1). |
SYMBOL |
INDEXED AS |
& |
AND |
˘ |
CENT |
$ |
DOLLAR or DOLLARS |
# |
NUMBER, POUND, or POUNDS |
% |
PERCENT |
NAME |
UNIT 1 |
UNIT 2 |
UNIT 3 |
UNIT 4 |
50˘ Burger Den |
50CENT |
BURGER |
DEN |
|
D & B Bargain |
D |
AND |
B |
BARGAIN |
Dan’s Donut Shop |
DANS |
DONUT |
SHOP |
|
$ Days Hotel |
DOLLAR |
DAYS |
HOTEL |
|
The Dollar Smart Shop |
DOLLAR |
SMART |
SHOP |
THE |
Just Good ˘ Store |
JUST |
GOOD |
CENTS |
STORE |
Exercise #10: |
|
- #1 Auto Repair Shop
- Kasey & Anderson , Attorneys
- $ Saved Used Furniture
- The 99˘ Bargain Basement
- High $ Real Estate Agcy.
- 110% Above the Rest
- # One Appliances
- Dollar Drug Store
- Kasey & Kasey Bookstore
- N & K Auctions
Rule 11 |
Government Names. Government names are indexed first by the name of the government 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. |
NAME |
JURISDICTION |
INDEXED NAME |
Court House, Evans
County |
County |
EVANS COUNTY |
Board of Education, |
City |
FREEMONT |
Banking Office, |
State |
TEXAS |
|
UNIT 1 |
UNIT 2 |
UNIT 3 |
UNIT 4 |
UNIT 5 |
UNIT 6 |
UNIT 7 |
UNIT 8 |
Court House, |
EVANS |
COUNTY |
COURT |
HOUSE |
HAZARD |
KENTUCKY |
|
|
Board of Education, |
FREEMONT |
EDUCATION |
BOARD |
OF |
FREEMONT |
MISSOURI |
|
|
Banking Office |
TEXAS |
COMMERCE |
DEPT |
OF |
BANKING |
OFFICE* |
DALLAS |
TEXAS |
|
UNIT 1 |
UNIT 2 |
UNIT 3 |
| |
UNITED |
STATE |
GOVERNMENT | |||
|
|
| |||
NAME |
UNIT 4 |
UNIT 5 |
UNIT 6 |
UNIT 7 |
UNIT 8 |
U.S. Department of
Agriculture |
AGRICULTURE |
DEPARTMENT |
OF |
FOREST |
SERVICE |
U.S. Department of
Labor |
LABOR |
DEPARTMENT |
OF |
EMPLOYMENT |
STANDARDS |
Bureau of Prisons |
JUSTICE |
DEPARTMENT |
PRISONS |
BUREAU |
OF |
U.S. Treasury
Department |
TREASURY |
DEPARTMENT |
CUSTOMS |
SERVICE |
|
Foreign government names are indexed first by the name of
the country, then by the name of the
distinctive department,
bureau, or
board. The words "Department of", "Bureau of", "Ministry of",
etc.
follow if it is part of the official name.
NAME |
UNIT 1 |
UNIT 2 |
UNIT 3 |
UNIT 4 |
UNIT 5 |
Republic of India |
INDA |
REPUBLIC |
OF |
|
|
Federal Republic of Germany |
GERMANY |
FEDERAL |
REPUBLIC |
OF |
|
Consulate General |
PERU |
CONSULATE |
GENERAL |
|
|
Department of Human
Resources |
TUNISIA |
HUMAN |
RESOURCES |
DEPARTMENT |
OF |
Rule 12 |
Addresses When personal names and names of businesses and organizations are otherwise identical, the filing order is determined by the address. The elements of the address are considered in the following order: City, State (spelled out in full), Street Name, Quadrant (NE, NW, SE, SW), House or Building Number NOTE: Because space is limited in example below, Unit 1 is displayed above and indexing begins with Unit 2. |
|
UNIT 1 |
|
| |||||
COMPUTERWORLD |
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|
| |||||||
NAME |
UNIT 2 |
UNIT 3 |
UNIT 4 |
UNIT 5 |
UNIT 6 | |||
ComputerWorld |
AKRON |
OHIO |
AVENUE |
NE |
12 | |||
ComputerWorld |
AKRON |
OHIO |
ELM |
STREET |
86 | |||
ComputerWorld |
COLUMBUS |
OHIO |
WARNER |
AVE |
600 | |||
ComputerWorld |
PORTLAND |
OREGON |
AND |
MAIN |
7 | |||
ComputerWorld |
PORTLAND |
OREGON |
AVENUE |
SW |
7 | |||
ComputerWorld |
PORTLAND |
TEXAS |
NORRIS |
DRIVE |
257 | |||
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