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
Rule 5 – Titles and Suffixes
A. Personal Names (cont’d)
Numeric suffixes (II, III) are always filed before
alphabetic suffixes (Jr., Sr., Mayor, Senator.)
Worth
Worth
Worth
Worth
–
–
–
–
John
John
John
John
- II
– III
– Jr
- Sr
If a name contains both a title and a suffix, the
suffix is indexed first and then the title.
The one on the left would be filed before the one on the right.
5
2
3
4
Mr. John Worth, III, CPA
5
2
3
4
Mr. John Worth, Jr., CPA
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
Rule 5 – Titles and Suffixes
B. Business Names
Titles in business names are indexed as written.
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
L’ Costa
De la Rosa
St. Louis
El’ Rosa
Van de Mere
Examples of Articles/Particles:
a la
Il
D’, Da, De, Del, L’, La, Las, Le,
De La, Della,
Les, Lo, Los
Den, Des, Di,
Dos, Du
Per
Saint, San,
Santa, Santo,
St., Ste.
E’, El
Fitz
Te, Ten, Ter
Van, Van de,
Van der, Von,
Von der
M’, Mac, Mc
O’
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
Complete the
“Rule 7 Self-Check”
Pages 66-67.
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
Hospitals
Clubs
Hotels / Motels
Unions
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.
Then….
Complete the
“Rules 5-8 Self-Check”
Page 69-70.
Then, check your answers using the handouts on Blackboard.
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 Names
Just 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 complete
business
name is not
cross-referenced;
only the similar
name.
Complete the
“Rule Cross-Referencing SelfCheck” on Page 73.
Then, check your answers using the
Pages
73
handouts on Blackboard.