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Grateful acknowledgement to the Local Records Division of the Texas State Library and Archives which published an earlier version of this article in The Local Record, Spring 1991.
This article is a continuation of the discussion about Numeric Filing Systems begun in the Technical Bulletin distributed in the Fall, 1991 issue of The OSU Record. The discussion focuses on systems of filing which use unique number assignments to identify each file. These systems are most useful for organizing large quantities of records.
Numeric filing is, like subject filing, an indirect access system that relies on the use of code numbers assigned to businesses, names of individuals, or subjects. It is an indirect access system because an index to the files must be used to retrieve information. Once the code number has been determined from the index, the file user can file or retrieve records easily.
Numeric filing systems include the straight-numeric, terminal-digit, middle-digit, duplex-numeric, and decimal-numeric filing systems.
Straight- or consecutive-numeric filing is a system in which files are arranged consecutively in ascending numeric order. The numbers may be those assigned to files or persons associated with them (e.g. patients in a hospital) or numbers that appear on the documents themselves, such as check or purchase order numbers. The system becomes cumbersome when long numbers (e.g. 7123490) are used. A numeric system in which dates are used for indexing purposes (e.g. 891206 to indicated December 12, 1989) results in numbers that are too long to be handled easily in a straight-numeric system. To overcome the problems of long numbers, two systems - the terminal-digit numeric and the middle-digit numeric - were developed. An example of the straight-numeric filing system is the one used by the Oregon State University Registrar's Office to organize student records. The numbers range from one to six digits. The index is in the form of a large card file, which includes cross references.
The terminal-digit numeric system is considered by many to be the most efficient of the numeric filing systems. In this system, the last digit or group of digits is the primary unit used for filing. For example, the number 7123490 could be broken down as follows: 71-234- 90, with 90 as the primary unit for filing, 234 as the secondary unit, and 71 as the tertiary unit.
The record could be filed in the following arrangement:
The terminal-digit system can accommodate large volumes of records, because long numbers can be divided into groups of several digits and still be easily managed. How numbers are broken down (e.g. how many digits will be included each group) depends on the current and projected capacity of the filing system.
The middle-digit numeric system is similar to terminal-digit, but is often more limited. Although the file numbers in the index are still listed in consecutive numeric sequence, the middle group of digits becomes the primary indexing unit, the first group is the secondary indexing unit, and the terminal the tertiary unit. In some systems using the middle group as the primary indexing unit, the terminal group is the secondary indexing unit, so the first group is the tertiary, or last, indexing unit.
In the first form of the middle-digit system, the file example 71-234- 90 could be filed in the following arrangement:
Terminal- and middle- digit systems share common advantages over straight-numeric systems. They allow equal distribution of records throughout the records storage area; they permit assignment of different file clerks to different sections of the files; and, since only numbers usually appear on the files, they provide a measure of security over records from those persons who do not have access to the index or who are unfamiliar with the system.
A duplex-numeric system uses two or more sets of code numbers for records, with the sets separated by dashes, commas, periods, or spaces. Records are filed consecutively by the first number, then sequentially by the second number, and so on. The duplex-numeric system lends itself to the subject and geographic systems that use the encyclopedia arrangement,with subdivisions for each major category. [See the discussion of geographic filing in the Technical Bulletin distributed with the Fall 1991 issue of The OSU Record.]
The duplex-numeric system follows this example:
Indexing and coding in a duplex-numeric system is similar to the requirements of an alphabetic subject filing system in that a relative index must be developed if the system is to be used effectively. The index must list the primary numbers assigned to major categories of information, with appropriate listings of the various subdivisions within the major headings.
The decimal-numeric system is perhaps the most commonly used and widely known numeric filing system. Developed initially for library use, the decimal system is based on ten general categories (e.g., 500 Pure Science). The major numeric groupings are each further divided into ten parts (e.g., 540 Chemistry), which are then subdivided into ten subunits (e.g., 540.1 Philosophy and Theory). The basic procedures of the Dewey decimal system can easily be expanded and adapted to most records holdings. For example:
Note that we are concerned in this system with decimals, not periods. Thus, the 510.11 Freeway Construction folder above, is filed before the 510.2 Internal Automation Folder.
The most effective application of the system is in situations in which records are classified by subject or by geographic location. Like the other numeric systems, use of the decimal-numeric system requires a relative index, which lists the number codes assigned to each record category and its subdivisions.
Editor's Note: Further information on filing systems will be published in future issues of The OSU Record. Meantime, if you have questions or would like to read other articles on the subject, please contact Acting University Archivist Larry Landis, 7-0540.