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Unit 1: Information Analysis, Repackaging and Consolidation

should be carried out so that when a well-organized inventory has been prepared it will correspond Notes
to the physical arrangement of the records.
Where the subgroups of records have been established on the basis of their organizational origins,
the series within the subgroups should be arranged in relation to the functions performed by the
administrative units that created them. And where several series relate to the same function, those
of a general character, relating to more than one activity under the function, should be placed before
those that are specific and relate to single activities. Or the sequence of the series may reflect the
order in which the functions were performed, as, for example, beginning with “applications” and
ending with “discharges.” Or it may reflect the chronological growth of records around a given
function, as when the first series represents the earliest record accumulation and later series represent
subsequent accumulations.
Where the subgroups of records have been established on the basis of their functional origins, the
series within them should be arranged so far as possible in relation to the organizational units of the
agency that performed the functions. The series created by staff offices should precede those produced
by subordinate administrative subdivisions; the series of the larger subdivisions should precede
those of the smaller; the series of headquarters offices should precede those of field offices; and the
series of antecedent offices should precede those of the offices that took over their functions.
If the records of the organizational units have not been separately maintained, the series may be
arranged in relation to the various activities carried on under the function represented by the
subgroup. The series may thus be arranged in the chronological order in which such activities were
instituted, in the order in which they were performed, or in an order that would place series dealing
with the function as a whole before series dealing with particular activities carried on under it.
Where the subgroups of records have been established on the basis of their types, the series should
normally be arranged on the basis of their administrative origin, or their subject content. Series
produced by particular organizational units should be arranged in hierarchical order; series that
are distinguishable only by reference to their subject content may be arranged either chronologically
or in such a way that those of a general and summary nature will precede those of a specific and
detailed nature.
Normally in arranging series of indexes the following rules should be observed: An index should
precede the series to which it relates. It should precede a group of series if it relates to more than one
series. If it relates to a number of series that are not together, it should be placed before the largest or
most used series that is indexed. Exceptions to these rules are permissible where indexes cannot be
filed in narrow equipment or narrow aisles, and where for convenience and efficiency they need to
be filed in the central aisles and near the service desks.

Series and isolated pieces of uncertain provenance should be placed at the end of the
record group until their proper attribution can be determined.

1.13 Arrangement of File Units

The final, and most detailed, step in arranging records is concerned with single documents, folders,
dossiers, volumes, or other file units. File units, usually consist of records kept together because they
relate to the same subject or transaction, or because they have the same form. These units, which vary
in size and character, are usually placed in a sequential arrangement that is determined by the type of
filing system employed. In a subject system— whether it is arranged on an alphabetical, a subject-
numeric, a classified, or some other basis — records will ordinarily be filed together under subject

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