ARMA Filing Rules Why have rules n The

ARMA Filing Rules

Why have rules?

n “The real test of an efficient records storage system is being able to find records quickly once they have been stored. ”

Classifying records n In order to organize, we must decide how to classify records.

Classifying Records n Use Transaction l Reference l n Place of Use Internal l External l

Classifying Records, cont. n Value Vital (irreplaceable – like titles) l Important (costly to replace – personnel records) l Useful (replaceable – bank statements) l Nonessential (disposable – phone messages) l

n 1. Why is consistency in filing so important?

Indexing n Determining the filing segment (or name) by which the record will be stored and retrieved. n The name most likely to be used in requesting the record is the one to be used for storage.

Coding n Marking the record to indicate the field (name, number, subject) by which it is to be stored. / between each word n Underline the key unit n Number remaining units n

2. Why are indexing rules important when filing names alphabetically?

Rule #1 n Personal names 1. 2. 3. l Surname (last name) Given name (first name) Middle name or initial Business names l l As written (on letterhead) Each word is a unit

Remember: Nothing comes before something. A blank space comes before a letter. Baker / William Bakersly / William

Rule #2 – Minor Words and Symbols in Business Names n Articles: a, an, the n Prepositions: to, at, on, of, for n Conjunctions: and, but, or, nor n Symbols: &, %, $

Are separate indexing units Symbols indexed as if spelled out “The” as the first word is considered the last unit.

Rule #3 Punctuation All punctuation marks are disregarded n Names are indexed as written n Doggydaycare. com is indexed as doggydaycarecom

Rule #4 – Single Letters and Abbreviations Initials in personal names are separate units n Nicknames are indexed as written n Business acronyms and abbreviations are indexed as written n

Rule #5 A title before a name, a seniority suffix, or professional suffix after a name is the last indexing unit. n Numbers are filed before alphabetic suffixes. n Royal and religious titles followed by surname only are indexed as written. n

n Business names --- titles are indexed as written.

Rule #6 Prefixes – Articles and Particles “A, ” “an, ” or “the” in another language used as part of a person’s name n De La Hoya l D’Agostino l Le Fleur l

Mac or Mc n Von, Van, Von der, Van der n O’ n Saint, St. , San, etc. n Ten, Ter, Te All are combined with the name that follows to form a single unit. Punctuation and spaces are disregarded. n

Rule #7 – Numbers in Business Names Numbers written as digits are filed before letters or words. n Numbers spelled out are filed alphabetically. n Digits are filed ascending. n Arabic numbers before Roman numerals. n Disregard ordinal suffixes (rd, nd, etc. ) n

Rule #8 – Organizations and Institutions n Organizations and institutions are indexed and filed according to the names written on their letterheads. 1 st National Bank = 1/ National/ Bank St. Vincent’s Medical Center = St. Vincents/ Medical/ Center

Rule #9 – Identical Names n 1. 2. 3. 4. If two people or organizations have identical names, filing order is determined by address. City name State or province names Street names House or building numbers

Rule #10 – Government Names 1. 2. Indexed first by the name of the governmental unit. Indexed next by the distinctive departmental name

The first three indexing units of a U. S. federal agency are: United States Government (always!)

State and local government: the first indexing units are the names of the state, town, county, etc. n Next, index the most distinctive departmental/unit name. n

Foreign government agencies are indexed by the first distinctive English name, then by the rest of the official government name, then by divisions of the government.

Cross-References n Personal Names l Unusual Names n Kim David could also be David Kim n Cross reference as: David Kim See Kim David l Hyphenated Surnames n Mary Jones-Stamford needs a crossreference as: Stamford Mary Jones See Jones. Stamford, Mary

n Alternate Names When an individual uses more than one name, such as a professional name (DBA, AKA) Mrs. Jennifer Reed in private life is Ms. Jennifer Jackson in professional life. Jackson Jennifer Ms. See also: Reed Jennifer Mrs.

n Names with multiple spellings l Jason Snyder Snider See also: Snyder, Shneider

Business Names n Compound Names Jasper, Nilson, and Fister, CPAs should be cross referenced under each name. Nilson, Fister and Jasper, CPAs See Jasper, Nilson, and Fister, CPAs

n Acronyms and abbreviations NELA should be cross referenced: Northwest Educational Loan Association See NELA

Popular or Coined Names n Spokane Falls Community College should be crossreferenced: SFCC see Spokane Falls Community College