Simple Course on Archival Management

Author: Wang Liwei
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2001-01-04
Features:
III. Methods of Filing
The specific method of filing primarily involves understanding the content and formation process of documents, identifying commonalities among them, and grouping files with common characteristics into a case file. In general, the commonalities of documents can be categorized into six aspects: issue, author, name, time, region, and communicator, commonly known as the "6 characteristics."
(1) Filing by Issue
An issue refers to the work-related problems, individuals, events, or matters reflected in the content of the document. Documents related to the same issue can be grouped into a case file. Since the work of various agencies and units always adheres to relevant policies and measures, handles, and resolves certain issues, the documents they generate are always centered around specific issues. Grouping documents with the same issue together maintains connections in their content, reflects the full picture of an activity, and allows users to search for documents based on the issues described in the content, facilitating retrieval and utilization. Therefore, filing by issue is a most commonly used primary method.
(2) Filing by Author
An author refers to the agency, organizational unit within an agency, or individual that drafts and issues the document. Grouping documents belonging to the same author into a case file facilitates the reflection of the agency's work and the connections between this agency and others. Due to differences in the functions and positions of authors, filing by author naturally distinguishes the importance and preservation value of documents.
(3) Filing by Name
Grouping documents with the same name into a case file is known as filing by name. Different file names reflect different functions and roles of the documents. Filing by name also effectively reflects the agency's work activities and appropriately distinguishes the importance and preservation value of documents, making it an indispensable method of filing.
(4) Filing by Time
Filing by time involves grouping documents that were created or pertain to the same year, quarter, or month into separate case files. For documents with clear time-specific targets, such as annual budgets, quarterly plans, or monthly statistical reports, filing is typically based on the time the document pertains to.
(5) Filing by Region
Filing by region involves grouping documents whose content pertains to the same region (e.g., province, city, county, township) into a case file, or grouping documents from the same region's authors into a case file.
(6) Filing by Communicator
Grouping correspondence between this agency and another agency on a specific issue or several issues into a case file. The connections between documents are complex, so it is often not possible to group them based on only one characteristic of the document. It is necessary to flexibly adopt various filing methods, especially to skillfully combine multiple filing characteristics. In practice, filing based on a single characteristic is rare, and it is more common to use two, three, or four characteristics in combination.
Currently, people have summarized common classification methods in their work:
1. "One Issue, One File" (also known as "Small File"): Any document material formed by a single issue, meeting, task, case, or activity, regardless of the number of pages, can be grouped into a separate file if it has the same preservation value.
2. "Four Divisions and Four Notes":
- Divide by Year: Pay attention to the time the document pertains to.
- Divide by Level: Pay attention to the connections between documents of different levels.
- Divide by Issue: Pay attention to the accuracy of the issue's connections and flexibly combine the author, name, time, region, and communicator characteristics of the document.
- Divide by Preservation Value: Pay attention to maintaining the completeness of the material.
When filing, the importance, preservation value, and quantity of the documents should also be considered. For documents reflecting the main functions of the agency and those with significant research value, they should be grouped into separate files to facilitate future preservation, transfer, and appraisal. Case files should not be too thick or too thin, with a recommended thickness of 1 to 1.5 centimeters.
IV. Organization and Arrangement of Documents within a Case File
After a case file is formed, further organization and arrangement of the documents within it are required. The main tasks include arranging and numbering the documents within the file, filling out the directory of documents within the file, and the supplementary table.
(1) Arrangement and Numbering of Documents within the File
The arrangement of documents within the file should be orderly, maintaining connections between them, and assigning a fixed position to each document. Methods of arrangement can include chronological order, author order, importance order, issue order, regional order, and name order. Regardless of the method used, it is essential to ensure that connections between requests and approvals, main documents and attachments, and different versions of the same document (e.g., original, draft) remain inseparable. After arranging the documents, they should be numbered sequentially using a unified method to fix the order, facilitating retrieval, utilization, and protection of the documents.
The directory of documents within the file is generally filled out item by item. The serial number is the item number of the document within the file. For some document titles that cannot accurately reflect the content or lack a title, the content should be summarized into an accurate title when filling.
The supplementary table is placed at the end of the case file to note the basic information of the documents within it, facilitating understanding of the case file by administrators and users. The items in the supplementary table mainly include:
- Explanation of the case file situation
- Signatures of the file preparer and the reviewer
- Filing date
The format is as follows:
Supplementary Table of Documents within the File
- Explanation of the case file situation
- File Preparer:
- Reviewer:
- Filing Date:
The explanation of the case file situation should detail any missing, modified, added, removed, or destroyed documents. Issues discovered after the case file is completed should be filled in, signed, and dated by relevant archival personnel.
- File Preparer: Signed by the person responsible for filing.
- Reviewer: Signed by the person reviewing the quality of the case file.
- Filing Date: The date when the filing is completed.
V. Cataloging of Case File Covers and Sealing of Case Files
(1) Cataloging of Case File Covers
After organizing the documents within the file, cataloging should be done on a case-by-case basis on the cover. The main items include:
- Full Collection Name (same as the name of the archival unit)
- Category Name (the top-level category name of the collection classification scheme)
- Case File Title (the title of the case file, the most important item on the cover, used to summarize and reveal the content and composition of the documents within the file. It provides clues for retrieval and is the foundation for compiling various indexing tools).
Drafting the title is one of the main tasks of archival cataloging and a fundamental skill for document filing personnel and archival staff. The basic requirements for drafting case file titles are:
1. Familiarity with the documents within the file. Do not hastily draft the title. Review the documents from beginning to end to familiarize yourself with the basic situation and organize your thoughts.
2. Summarize the content concisely and accurately. When the content is relatively simple, directly state the title for simplicity. When the content and composition are complex, the title should be more general. The goal is to allow users to understand what kind of documents are in the file at a glance, serving as a "guide."
3. Strive for a complete title structure. The general structure of a case file title is: Author — Issue (Subject) — Document Type (Name). When necessary, indicate the region, sender/receiver agency, and date.