OST184 Records Management

Chapter 3

Alphabetic Indexing Rules 5-8

Rule 5 – Titles and Suffixes A. Personal Names

Titles and Suffixes are always the last indexing units.

Titles (before a name) - Miss, Mr., Mrs., Ms., Sir, Sister, Professor

Seniority suffixes (after a name) - II, III, Jr., Sr.Professional suffixes (after a name) - CRM, DDS, Mayor,

M.D., Ph.D., Senator

Royal and religious titles, if followed by either a given name or a surname only, are indexed and filed as written. 2

3 2

Examples: Father Joseph Father Joseph Kannon

Numeric suffixes (II, III) are always filed before alphabetic suffixes (Jr., Sr., Mayor, Senator.)

Worth – John - IIWorth – John – IIIWorth – John – JrWorth – John - Sr

If a name contains both a title and a suffix, the suffix is indexed first and then the title.

5 2 3 4 5 2 3 4 Mr. John Worth, III, CPA Mr. John Worth, Jr., CPA

Rule 5 – Titles and Suffixes A. Personal Names (cont’d)

The one on the left would be filed before the one on the right.

Put another way…

Titles and suffixes are always indexed last.

A suffix is indexed before a title (“S” before “T”)

A numeric suffix always comes before an alphabetic suffix.

Examples of Rule 5A

Titles in business names are indexed as written.

Rule 5 – Titles and Suffixes B. Business Names

Complete the

“Rule 5 Self-Check”

Pages 60-61.

Then, check your answers using the handouts on Blackboard.

Rule 6: Prefixes – Articles and Particles

A foreign 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 between a prefix and the rest of the name, and the space is disregarded when indexing.

Examples of articles and particles: D’ Angelo De la Rosa El’ Rosa

L’ Costa St. Louis Van de Mere

Examples of Articles/Particles:

a la Il Per

D’, Da, De, Del, De La, Della, Den, Des, Di, Dos, Du

L’, La, Las, Le, Les, Lo, Los

Saint, San, Santa, Santo, St., Ste.

E’, El M’, Mac, Mc Te, Ten, Ter

Fitz O’ Van, Van de, Van der, Von, Von der

Examples of Rule 6

Complete the

“Rule 6 Self-Check”

Pages 63.

Then, check your answers using the handouts on Blackboard.

Rule 7: Numbers in Business Names

Numbers spelled out in business names are filed alphabetically.

Seven Acres Inn Numbers written in digits are filed before

alphabetic letters or digits. (numbers before letters)

B4 Photographers would come before Bleu Building Company

Names with numbers written in digits in the first units are filed ascending order (lowest to highest) before alphabetic names

229 Club, 534 Shop, Bank of Chicago Arabic numerals (2,3,4…) are filed before Roman

numerals (I, II, III…)

Rule 7 (cont’d) Names with inclusive numbers (33-77) are

arranged by the first digit(s) only. Only the 33 would be considered when filing 33-77.

45-88 would come before 47-100 Names with numbers appearing in other than the

first position (Pier 36 Café) are filed alphabetically and immediately before a similar name without a number Pier and Port Café. Pier 36 Café…..would come…..Pier and Port Café

When indexing numbers written in digit form that contain st, nd, and th (1st - 2nd - 3rd - 4th) ignore the letter endings and consider only the digits.

Examples of Rule 7

Pages 66-67

Complete the

“Rule 7 Self-Check”

Pages 66-67.

Then, check your answers using the handouts on Blackboard.

Rule 8: Organizations & Institutions

The following are indexed and filed according to the names written on their letterheads.

When an organization or institution starts with “THE” – the “THE” is the last unit indexed - just as with businesses.

Banks Clubs Unions

Hospitals Hotels / Motels

Lodges

Magazines Museums Newspapers

Religious Places

Schools Colleges and Universities

Examples of Rule 8

Complete the

“Rule 8 Self-Check”

Page 69.

Then, check your answers using the handouts on Blackboard.

Complete the

“Rules 5-8 Self-Check”

Page 69-70.

Then, check your answers using the handouts on Blackboard.

Then….

Cross-References - Business Names

Cross-referencing for the following types of business names:

Popular and Coined names Hyphenated names Divisions and Subsidiaries Changed names Similar names

Cross-Referencing - Business Names Popular or Coined Names Often a business is know by its popular and/or coined name.

Cross-Referencing - Business Names Hyphenated NamesJust as in personal names, business surnames with hyphens need to be cross-referenced for each surname combination.

Cross-referencing Divisions and Subsidiaries

When one company is a subsidiary or a division or brand of another company, the name appearing on the letterhead of the branch or subsidiary is the one indexed on the original record.

A cross-reference is made under the name of the parent company.

Cross-referencing Changed Names

If only a few records are already in storage, they are usually “refiled” under the new name, and the former name is marked as a cross-reference.

If many records are filed under the former name, a permanent cross-reference is placed at the beginning of the records for the former name. Any new records are placed under the new name.

Cross-referencing Similar Names

If a name could be considered either as one or two units, it is a good candidate for a cross-reference.

A SEE ALSO cross-reference is used to remind the filer to check the files for other possible spellings.

The completebusiness name is notcross-referenced; only the similarname.

Pages 73

Complete the

“Rule Cross-Referencing Self-Check” on Page 73.

Then, check your answers using the handouts on Blackboard.