Page 93 - DLIS405_INFORMATION_STORAGE_AND_RETRIEVAL

Information Storage and Retrieval

Notes Derived Indexing solely relies on information which is manifest in the document, without attempting
to add to this from indexer’s own knowledge or other sources. We looked at ways in which printed
indexes could be derived from information manifest in a document. We can also consider some of
the ways in which files may be searched online, again using the information manifest in the document,
e.g. titles, abstracts or full text. By doing so we have to face the problems of natural language. A
discussion to these problems leads to the idea of assigned indexing.
If we are to use a list of words to help us in our searching, we would increase the chances of achieving
successful matches if we used the same list of words to encode the appropriate words to the
documents ourselves rather than rely on authors’ choice. In other words, we device an indexing
language and used this for both encoding operations: input and question. Such systems are referred
to as assigned indexing systems. Assigned indexing involves intellectual process. Subject heading
schemes, thesaurus and classification schemes are the popular forms of assigned indexing. Assigned
indexing is also known as concept indexing.

9.3 Alphabetical Indexing

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.

Basic Filing Terms

Before learning the 12 filing rules, an understanding of filing terms is necessary.
Unit – Each part of a name is a unit. Names are alphabetized unit by unit. If there
are two parts in a name, the name has two units.
Indexing – Indexing is determining the order and format of the units in a name. Is a
person’s record filed by first or last name? Is a business record filed under T
if the name begins with The? Is punctuation considered with alphabetizing
a name? Indexing is deciding which name to file a record under and then
arranging the units in that order.
Alphabetizing – When you arrange names in alphabetical order, you are alphabetizing them.
There are 3 basic categories for alphabetizing names: Personal Names,
Business or Company Names, and Government Names.
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.

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