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Technical Bulletin: Avoiding Unnecessary Filing, Part I

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, Winter, 1989.

The indiscriminate filing of unnecessary paper is a waste of time, labor, and equipment. It will take you longer to file the records of your office and it will slow down the speed with which you retrieve information. You need to take steps to control how your records are created and maintained in order to avoid the unnecessary filing of documents, letters, and other material that clog your files without adding useful information to them.

The Curse of the Copy Machine

First of all, you may need to reconsider the role of the photocopy machine in your office. The photocopier has been a great blessing to record keepers everywhere, but if used unwisely it can become a curse. In many offices boxes of messy carbon paper were thrown out long ago, replaced by a photocopy machine humming away in the corner, turning out copy after copy. In most offices little thought has been given to the exact purpose of all those copies or what is to be done with them after their initial use. It is a mistake to assume that copies of documents made for convenience will be discarded; without a program of copy management and clearly defined filing controls it is almost certain they will worm their way back into your main files and begin to devour file space as well as confuse the issue as to which one is the record copy.

The use of computers in your office can lead to the same problem. The printing of disk-stored information into hard copy can flood your files with unneeded records unless the disposition of the print-outs is carefully controlled. Work-ups or drafts of a computerized document, often printed out at various stages of its composition for proofing or comment, have no place in your files - only the finished version should be placed there. When you file periodic print-outs of financial records from a database, they should replace at least some of the earlier print-outs of the same record. Your records schedule or filing plan might specify how many updates of a record should be in the file at any given time. Each update must be dated in order to avoid confusion over the most current copy.

The Need for Copy Management

The health of your files management program depends on controlling the creation and flow of copies. You should have enough problems managing the originals of the many records you create or receive without having to worry about what to do with all the copies.

You may need to reassess your current copy policies with a view to reducing to a minimum the number of copies made. Rather than making copies for each individual who must see it, use a "routing slip" and circulate one copy of a document to everyone. The routed copy may be stamped or marked "COPY" to avoid confusion between the duplicate and the file copy. Above all, you must take steps to ensure that however many copies are made, they are not placed in your main files.

The Concept of the Record Copy

Even in the best copy management program, you will occasionally need to make copies of records for circulation to concerned staff. It is very important to establish from the start which of those copies is the "official" or "record copy." The record copy of a document, usually the original, is the principal copy of the document and is usually the only one that should have a place in your main files.

After making copies of a record you have created or received, stamp the original "file copy," "official copy," or "record copy." Most current photocopiers produce copies that are virtually indistinguishable from the original, so it is important that the document be stamped after copies are made. Otherwise, you are likely to find two or more copies of the same document in your files stamped "record copy."

There are, of course, occasional exceptions to the rule that only the record copy of a document has a place in your files, but they almost always involve substantial changes to the original. For example, a dean has asked all departments heads to comment on a report concerning the proposed site of a new teaching lab. One department head, rather than writing a separate memorandum of his views on the subject, has written extensive annotations on his copy of the report and a long comment on the back of the last page. In this instance, a copy of a document has been so modified that has become essentially a different record. The person charged with reviewing the comments of the department heads decides that this annotated copy should be filed with the separate memoranda and so indicates on the face of the document.

It is important to remember that only the official or record copy of a document, report, letter, etc., is the "public record." You should consult the University Archives (x7-2165) for more information on record copies, state laws governing the disposition of university records, and the procedures for submitting annual destruction notices.

Limit or Eliminate "Extra Copy" Files

One of the principal hazards to the success of any file plan is the presence in your office of "extra copy" files. There are two types of such files - you should limit the use of one type as much as possible, and the other you should eliminate entirely.

The first type, the "convenience" or "reading" file, is commonplace in most offices. Convenience files are created by staff members in the course of their work. They might routinely make copies of many of the records they create or receive and place the copies in their desk file for reference. Rather than working with a folder from the main files, they might make a copy of its contents. To the staff member these reading files seem very valuable and convenient, and your very best efforts are unlikely to eliminate their use entirely. But you should take steps to guard against the damage their misuse can cause to your main files.

There are two dangers involved in allowing the indiscriminate use of convenience files in your office. First, far too often the contents of these files or the folders themselves are eventually put in the file tray and end up in your main files. Second and far more harmful to the health of your files is that staff may file record copies of important documents and reports in their convenience files. Establishing a record copy for each document, as outlined above, and following the filing procedures to be discussed in a later article will help avert these dangers, but a vigorous campaign against the undisciplined use of convenience files in your office should be one of your first priorities.

The second type of "extra copy" file involves making several copies of the same document or report and filing them under different headings in your files. This duplicate filing method is widespread in offices, and it is among the most significant causes of "clogged" files. In a typical bank of five 4-drawer filing cabinets, in which duplicate filing has been the norm, it would be common to find the equivalent of as many as two full file drawers given over to duplicates. You should entirely eliminate duplicate filing from your office operations. The conventional wisdom is the that this method makes it easier to find information. That may be true, but a well-planned filing system will deliver better results without the enormous waste of space involved in the duplicate filing method.

10 Warning Signs that your Files are in Trouble (there are many more!)

• Too many filing places in too many parts of your office.
• Files disordered, without any apparent plan or arrangement.
• Related records are filed under different titles.
• Too much time is spent looking for files.
• Drawers are jammed with folders.
• Some of your folders are bulging with papers.
• Labels on files are difficult to read.
• Some folders slump out of sight.
• Old, obsolete records are still in active files.
• Decisions about where to file are left to each file clerk.