the municipal secretary desktop reference manual - Southwestern ...

CHECKLIST
FILES CONTROL
(continued)
Problem
Same trouble with card files
Drawers jammed too tight
Building folders slow down filing speed
File storage using up valuable floor space
Papers pile up in the AMiscellaneous@ folder
Individual folders too full
Guides in bad condition
Folder tabs difficult to read
Folders out of sight
Solution
Have not more than 30 cards to a guide in an average
reference file, not more than 20 in an active or growing
one, and not more than 10-15 to a guide in a posted record
file, such as a ledger.
Allow 3 to 4 inches of working space in letter files; 1 to 2
inches in card files.
Have not over 25 sheets per folder for best efficiency; not
over 50 maximum.
Use cabinets with at least five drawers. Adopt open shelf
filing, if possible. Keep only active files in the office; retire
older files to records center.
Give a person of firm its own folder after the sixth
document from that source. If that doesn=t work, you need
a larger number of divisions in your index.
Make a special name guide for the folder; then put a set of
chronological folders back of the guide.
Replace broken guides. Use
$ reinforced tabs in the active file
$ angular tabs for easier reading
$ edges of guide, and not the tab, when pushing contents
of file.
Use
$ gummed labels; they strengthen and beautify, as well as
add legibility
$ larger size fonts
$ reinforced tabs when reference is frequent
$ a good grade of material for active filesCit pays.
Check compressor. Use stiffer folders. Use scored or
bellows folders for better expansion. Suspended folders
may help, but they use up drawer space and are expensive.
Source: National Office Products Association. Common Filing Problems (n.d.)
XV-18