This document discusses rules for alphabetic indexing. It covers rules for titles and suffixes in personal and business names (Rule 5), articles and particles in names (Rule 6), numbers in names (Rule 7), and organizing institutions (Rule 8). It also provides examples of cross-referencing names that are hyphenated, changed, similar, or divisions of larger companies. The document is from a textbook on records management and aims to explain best practices for alphabetically organizing names and other index terms.

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RECORDS MANAGEMENT
Judith Read and Mary Lea Ginn
Chapter 4
Alphabetic Indexing Rules 5−8
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Rule 5A: Titles and Suffixes
 Personal names
 A title (Dr., Miss, Mr., Mrs., Ms., Professor, Sir, Sister), seniority suffix (II,
III, Jr., Sr.), or professional suffix (CRM, DDS, Mayor, MD, PHD, Senator) is
the last unit.
 Numeric suffixes (II, III) are placed before alphabetic suffixes (Jr., Mayor,
Senator, Sr.).
 Single names with royal or religious titles are filed as written. Example
Princess Anne = Princess (Key Unit) / Anne (Unit 2)
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Rule 5B: Titles and Suffixes
 Business names
 Titles in business names and suffixes are indexed as written
 “The” is the last unit when it appears as the first word of a business name
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© 2016 Cengage Learning®

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Answers: Rule 5 Self-Check
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Rule 6: Articles and Particles
 Business and personal names
 “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”(Read
& Ginn, 2015, p. 64).
 The indexing order is not affected by space between a prefix and the rest
of the name and the space is disregarded when indexing” (Read & Ginn,
2015, p. 64).
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© 2016 Cengage Learning®

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Answers: Rule 6 Self-Check
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Rule 7: Numbers in Names
 It is important to remember that numbers in business names have unique
rules
 Spelled-out numbers are filed alphabetically (Seven Lakes Nursery).
 Numbers written in digits are filed in ascending order before words.
Example: “B4 Photography comes before Beleau Building and Loan”
(Read & Ginn, 2015, p. 66).
 Arabic numbers are filed before Roman numbers.
 “Names containing Roman numerals are filed in ascending order
according to their Arabic number equivalents” (VIII-Ball Club) (Read &
Ginn, 2015, p. 67).
 First digits only of inclusive numbers are used (30-29 family Club)
 “When hyphens separate three or more numbers written as digits,
remove the hyphens as you would when hyphen separate words” (Read &
Ginn, 2015, p. 67). Example 1-2-3 Market would be 123/Market(2).
 “Names with numbers appearing in other than the first position are filed
alphabetically and immediately before a similar name without a number”
(Read & Ginn, 2015, p. 67).
 Ordinals (st, d, th) are disregarded
 A number linked to a letter or word is a single unit
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Rule 7: Numbers in Names
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© 2016 Cengage Learning®

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Answers: Rule 7 Self-Check
 A = 1,3,2
 B = 3, 1, 2
 C = 3, 1, 2
 D = 3, 2, 1
 E = 2, 3, 1
 F = 2, 3, 1
 G = 3, 2, 1
 H = 3, 2, 1
 I = 1,3,2
 J = 3, 1, 2
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Rule 8: Organizations and Institutions
 Organizations and institutions are filed according to the name
written on the letterhead
 Examples
 Banks and other financial institutions
 Schools, colleges, and universities
 Hospitals, hotels, and clubs
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© 2016 Cengage Learning®

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Answers: Rule 8 Self-Check
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Cross-Reference Examples
Popular and coined
names
File records under
the official name
Cross-reference
the popular name
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Cross-Reference Examples (continued)
Hyphenated names
File records under
the official name
Cross-reference
each surname
combination
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© 2016 Cengage Learning®

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Cross-Reference Examples (continued)
Divisions and
subsidiaries
File records
under the division
or branch name
Cross-reference
the parent
company name
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© 2016 Cengage Learning®

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Cross-Reference Examples (continued)
Changed names
File records
under the new
name
Cross-reference
the former name
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© 2016 Cengage Learning®

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Cross-Reference Examples
Similar names
A SEE ALSO cross-
reference indicates
similar names
Only the similar
part of the name is
cross-referenced
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© 2016 Cengage Learning®

17. + Answers: Cross-Referencing Self-Check
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Resources
 Read, J., & Ginn, M. L. (2015). Alphabetic Indexing Rules 1-
4. In Records management (10th ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage
Learning.
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