Names with a hyphen are treated as if they were one (RULE 3). Don’t worry about the hyphen. Just start with the first few letters of the name. Ampersands (&) can’t be used to link two or more proper names. Keep the first name in mind when you file.
The names of people are listed in alphabetical order, with the last name being the first letter, the first name or initials being the second letter, and the middle name or initials being the third letter. A name or initial with just one letter comes before a full name that also starts with that letter. If a last name is made up of two or more words that are separated by a space, like “VanOwen,” index it as if it were just one word.
(Note: Even though ALA Filing Rules was published in 1968 and ALA Rules for Filing Catalog Cards, Second Edition was published in 1980, these are the most recent editions of both books.)
If you don’t know if a name is someone’s first or last name or if the order of the names isn’t clear, put the names in the order they are written in the alphabet. Think about the following situations.
In an alphabetical filing system, papers are put into folders based on the first letter of the name of the person or group responsible for them. You can use first names or last names, but they have to be the same all over the file system. When more than one person’s name starts with the same letter, the second letter is looked at, then the third, and so on. It is the most common way to file, and both small and large businesses can use it.
The parts of a filing entry should be filed in the same way and order that they appear.
Follow the “file-as-is” method.
Sort the important parts of a file entry by word, then by character, starting with the word.
Find the right place for each letter in the English alphabet (A-Z).
What does it mean to put things in order by the third letter?
Putting the alphabet in order by the third letter of each word When some or all of the words in a group start with the same two letters, put them in alphabetical order by their third letters.
Why is it important to file things in alphabetical order?
The more files you have, the more likely it is that several of them will have the same name. Users who don’t follow the rules for alphabetizing, like filing by a person’s last name or putting “The” at the beginning of business names or titles, risk putting documents in the wrong place.
Why not show the order of the alphabet?
This means that they should be put in order by the letters of the alphabet. We look at the first letter of each word when putting them in alphabetical order. Because the letter c comes before the letter d in the alphabet, the word “cat” comes before the word “dog.”
How does the alphabetical method work?
In an alphabetical filing system, papers are put into folders based on the first letter of the name of the person or group responsible for them. You can use first names or last names, but they have to be the same all over the file system.
How many rules about alphabetical order are there?
As a list of Alphabetic Filing Rules, ARMA has put out standard rules for putting records in order by alphabet. The ARMA guidelines and the 12 criteria in this chapter are based on the same basic ideas.
How are the letters put in order?
If you follow these simple rules, it’s easy to alphabetize in APA style: Sort the letters from A to Z. There are no spaces, capital letters, hyphens, periods, or accent marks. Use the first important word when putting titles or groups of names in alphabetical order (disregard a, an, the, etc.)
What are the three most popular ways to file?
There are three different kinds of filing and sorting systems: alphabetical, numeric, and alphanumeric.
What is a good way to organize files?
The filing system should be easy to use and not too complicated. But the file system can’t lose its usefulness for the sake of being easy to use. 3. Accessibility: A good filing system should make it easy to find documents when they are needed.
How do I put my papers in alphabetical order?
By index name, the files should be put in alphabetical order. The basic filing rule says that things should usually be put in order from A (first) to Z (last) (last). Use more and more information to tell products apart and place orders for them.
Which is more important, the first name or the last name?
Whenever you can, sort names by the first letter of the last name. A comes after B, and so on. If the first letters of the last names are the same, sort by the second letter. Since d comes before s in the alphabet, Douglas Adams is above Isaac Asimov on my book shelves.
What does it mean for something to be “alphabetical”?
The meaning of the word alphabetic 1: Things are usually organized by letter of the alphabet. 2: having to do with or involving an alphabet
Which letters are in order from A to Z?
In English, there are 26 letters in the alphabet: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, and Z.
What are the problems with filing by letter?
Here are some problems with filing by alphabetical order. 1. It takes a long time to find papers, which slows things down. 2. When there are a lot of people with the same name, the alphabetical filing method makes things confusing and crowded.
What are the five most important steps for filing?
The five most important steps to filing. Conditioning, releasing, indexing, and coding; sorting, storing, and filing
In alphabetical order, which comes first: letters or numbers?
In an MLA works cited, letters should always come before numbers. The numbers are in order from A to Z, like they were written down. For example, “twenty-four-seven service” is the first letter of the alphabet for a company with the number “24/7Service.”