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Business Educators

Office Procedures

Rule 1—Simple Personal Names

Use the last name as first filing unit.The first name or initial is the second filing unit.Use the middle name or initials as the third unit.Abbreviated and shortened names are indexed as written.

William R. Johnson

Johnson is the first indexing unitWilliam is the second indexing unitR. is the third indexing unit.

1st UnitJohnson

2nd UnitWilliam

3rd UnitR.

Rule 2—Nothing Comes Before Something

A name consisting of one word will be filed before a name which consists of the same name plus a first name or initial.

SmithSmith, Dan

Rule 2

A name consisting of the same first and last names will be filed before the same name which also has a middle name or initial.

Sanders, JenniferSanders, Jennifer M.

Rule 2

Nothing comes before something.

Kell, GeorgeKelly, George

Rule 3—Personal Names with Prefixes

Surnames which include a prefix are filed as one until whether the prefix is followed by a space or not.

De Marco, Dolores AnneMac Arthur, Robin A.St. Claire, Robert A.

Rule 4—Personal Names with Personal, Professional, Royal or

Religious Titles

When a personal, professional, royal or religious title is used in a FULL personal name, the title will be the last filing unit.

Adams, James Dr.Burke, Chas J. DDS

Rule 4

When a title is NOT part of a full personal name, the title will be indexed as written.

Brother HenryFather RiceMr. Ed

Rule 4When a personal name contains a seniority title, the title will be the last filing unit.

1. Arabic2. Roman Numerals3. Alphabetic

Garner, WilliamGarner, William IIGarner, William IIIGarner, William Jr.Garner, William Sr.

Rule 5—Names of Married Women

The names of married women will be indexed and filed in the same way that any other personal name is indexed and filed.

Caldwell, Anna Mrs.Caldwell, Sue Mrs.

Rule 6—Personal Names Containing a Hyphen

Ignore the hyphen and index the hyphenated name as one unit.

Mr. Harold Porter-Smith would be filed as:PorterSmith/Harold/Mr.

Ralph R. Porter-Jones would be filed as:PorterJones/Ralph R.

Rule 7—Foreign Personal Names

When it is difficult to determine the last name of an individual, consider the last name to written as the surname.

Cheng Huang would be filed as:Huang, Cheng

Shien Hu would be filed as:Hu, Shien

Rule 8—Pseudonyms and Nicknames

A pseudonym (fictious name, pen name, alias) is indexed and filed as any other personal name.

Mark TwainTwain, Mark

Babe HermanHerman, Babe

Rule 9—Personal Names that are Identical

When personal names are identical, the address is used to determine the correct filing unit.1. City2. State3. Street4. House No.

Rule 10—Business Names

Index the names of businesses as they are written.

Barton and Barton, Ltd.Barton/and/Barton/Ltd.

Rule 10

When the word “The” is the first word of a business name, it is indexed as the last filing unit.

The New York TimesNew/York/Times/The

Rule 10

When a full personal name is part of a business name, do not reverse the personal name. The name is indexed as written.

Georgette Valentine CosmeticsGeorgette/Valentine/Cosmetics

Rule 10

When a symbol ($, &, #) is part of a business name, spell it out and index the spelled out symbol as a separate filing unit.A hyphen is ignored and treated as one unit.

$ Saver DiscountDollar/Saver/Discount

Tru-Flex EquipmentTruFlex/Equipment

Rule 10

When business names are identical, the address is used to determine the correct filing order.

Rule 11—Business Names Containing Compass Terms

When a compass term (North, South, Southwest, or North East) is part of a business name, each word, as it is written is considered a separate indexing unit.

South East Lumber Co.South/East/Lumber/Co.

Southeast Transportation Inc.Southeast/Transportation/Inc.

Rule 12—Business Names Containing Numbers

When a business name contains a number that is spelled out

Third Avenue DeliThe name is indexed and filed as written.

Rule 12

When the name contains a written number

3rd Avenue Deli

“3” is the first indexing unit (the “rd” is ignored).It is filed in ASCENDING order in a special numeric section in the front of the file drawer.

Rule 12

When the name contains a written number that is NOT the first indexing unit, the name will be filed in the alphabetic section.Cloud Nine GalleryCloud/Nine/GalleryCloud 9 RestaurantCloud/9/RestaurantThe written number (9) will come first because numbers precede alphabetic characters (nine.)

Rule 12

Arabic numbers will be filed in front of Roman numerals in the numeric section of the file drawer. For example:

24th And Market Cafe1st

XXI Electronics 2nd

Rule 13—Business and Organization Names

An acronym is a word formed from the first letter or letters of several words.

Rule 13

Acronyms, abbreviations, radio and television call letters are indexed as one unit, disregarding spacing, hyphens, and punctuation.

NAME AS INDEXED

AFL-CIO AFLCIO

KRON TV KRON/TV

3 M Company 3M/Company

K F R C Radio KFRC/Radio

Rule 13

When single letters are part of a business name, spacing between the letters will determine the indexing unit.When the letters are not separated by a space, the letters are considered as one indexing unit.

A B C MFG. A/B/C/MFG

ABC ConstructionABC/Construction

Rule 14—Government NamesFederal Government

When indexing the name of a federal government agency, the first three units will be UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT.

Department of AgricultureUnited/States/Government/Agriculture/Department/of

The fourth unit will be the most distinctive word.

Rule 14State and Local Government

The first indexing unit will be the name (State, City, County) of the governing agency.The next indexing unit will be the most distinctive word in the particular branch of the governing agency.Colorado State Department of MinesColorado/State/Mines/Department/of

Sonoma County Bureau of Parks and RecreationSonoma/County/Parks/and/Recreation/Bureau of

Rule 14Foreign Governments

The name of the country will be the first indexing unit.The next indexing unit will be the most distinctive name in the department, branch, or division of the government.West German Government Department of DefenseWest/German/Government/Defense/Department/of

Cross-Referencing

Occasionally a document will be requested under a name that is different from that which it is filed.If there is any doubt about where a document might be placed in the files, a cross-reference card should be prepared.

Cross-ReferencingCBEA

CBEA10500 Grant AvenueLos Altos, CA 94022

California Business Education Association

See CBEA