Page 50 - Information Management 3rd Edition

Information Management
– Vertical filing cabinet – This cabinet consists of several drawers where documents are stored in an upright position. The disadvantages of this filing cabinet are the inside of the cabinet is clumsy, the cabinet uses a substantial amount of floor space, people are inclined to overload the cabinet and it is difficult to store many documents. The advantage of this filing cabinet is that it appears neat from the outside.
– Lateral filing cabinet – This cabinet is very practical when the business must consider floor space, since the cabinet can reach up to the ceiling. Files are put next to each other with the spines of the files displaying the information references.
– Horizontal filing cabinet – This cabinet is especially suitable for the storage of maps and plans. The cabinet consists of deep drawers in which the Pmaterial isrplacedeon top of -each opther. The duisadvantagbes of this cabinet are that it takes up floor space and the filed documents can easily be
damaged because of frequent handling.
– Rotating filing cabinet – This cabinet rotates around a spool and consists
of levels of different depths with different files. Each level rotates
independently of the other.
– Mobile filing cabinet – This cabinet usually consists of very simple units of
drawers pla
• Indexing procedures and equipment
Indexes are used with most filing systems to facilitate information retrieval.
It is very important to maintain the index and add new documents to the
index as soon as the document has been created. As soon as documents are
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destroyed, the document must be removed from the index. All changes to
copy
the document management system should also be affected on the index
immediately. The index can be done separately from the documents or the
documents can be arranged in such a manner that they are self-indexing,
for example, a telephone directory. Indexing equipment should also assist the information retrieval process.
There is a variety of indexing equipment:
– Vertical card index – This index consists of several cards, each one dealing
with one item of the index. The heading, with the reference information where the document can be found in the filing system, appears on the card. The cards are organised vertically in a drawer. The wheel index is a type of vertical card index. The cards are organised around a spill in the form of a wheel. The wheel index can either be portable, in a cabinet or built into a desk.
– Visible card index – This index consists of a range of cards organised so that they overlap each other. Only a part of the card is visible. This index is mostly found in a book or cabinet.
– Book index – This index appears in a special book with indented guide pages on which the letters of the alphabet appear, for example, a little book with telephone numbers.
– The alphabetical filing system is self-indexing. This means that no index is necessary to retrieve documents. Indexes should be used with the numerical and alpha- numerical systems.
pen-plan offices.
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