Records management: An introduction to the file rules and indexing.
Filing rules. The filing rules used most frequently in
business have been developed by the association of records managers and
administrators. each company adapts the ARMA filing rules to meet its specific
needs.
ARMA filing rules:
rule one: indexing order of units. personal names are indexed by surname,
first name or initial,
middle name or initial,
business names are indexed as written in a letterhead or trademark, or each word
is a separate unit.
Rule two: minor words and symbols in business names.
articles, prepositions, conjunctions, and symbols are considered separate indexing
units. if the word "the" is the first word of the
business name it becomes the last indexing unit.
Rule three: punctuation and possessives. disregard all punctuation when indexing
business and personal names. Rule four: single letters and abbreviations.
personal names: initials and personal names are considered separate indexing
units. abbreviations of personal names and brief personal names are indexed as
written.
business names. single letters, and business names are indexed as written.
If single letters are separated by a space, index each letter as a separate
unit. index acronyms (such as KFC and ARMA) and television and radio call letters as
one unit.
Abbreviated words, company, incorporated, and names (KFC, A&E) are indexed as one
unit regardless of punctuation or spacing.
Rule five: titles and suffixes. personal names. a title before a name. a senior
suffix. or professional suffix after the name is the last indexing unit.. numeric
suffixes are filed before alphabetic suffixes. 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 surname only are indexed as written.
Business names. titles in business names are indexed as written. rule six: 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 unit. any spaces or punctuation
between the prefix and name should be ignored. Rule Seven: numbers in business names.
numbers that are spelled out are filed alphabetically as written. numbers in
digit form are one unit. names that include numbers as the first unit in
digit form are filed in ascending order before alphabetic names. rule eight:
organizations and institutions. the name of an organization or institution is
filed according to how it appears on the group's letterhead. if the word "the' is
used as a first word in these names, it is considered the last indexing unit.
rule nine: identical names. if entire names are identical the order is
determined by address.
addresses are considered in this order: city names, state or province, street
names including Avenue Boulevard etc. when the first unit of a street name is
written in digits the names are filed in ascending numeric order before the
alphabetic street names. street names with compass directions
north-south etc. are indexed as written.
if city name and street numbers are identical, house numbers are used. zip
codes are not used in indexing order.
rule 10: government names. government names are first indexed by the name of
the governmental unit: country, state, county, or city.
the second unit identifies the distinctive name of the department,
office, or board. words such as "office of" and "Department of" are separate indexing units
When they are part of the official name.
if the word "of" is not part of the official name as written, it should not
be added. Federal: the first three indexing units
of a federal agency are United States government,
state and local. the first three indexing units are the names of the state,
province, County, parish, city, town, township, or village.
the next indexing unit is the most distinctive name of the department, Board,
office, or government division. the words "state of" or "county of" are only added if
necessary for clarity or if they are part of the official office name.
Foreign: the English name is the first indexing unit. the remainder of the
formal name is indexed next if it is needed and if it is part of the official
name. the names of the departments and divisions follow in order.
the names of states, cities and other divisions, follow and are filed by their
official names spelled in English.
You have completed this learning activity. Records management: an
introduction to file rules and indexing.