Question 4
Candidates were asked to:
- List four attributes of a good filing system.
- State and explain four types of indexing.
Observation
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This was one of the regular questions and most of the candidates that attempted it did very well.
(a) Attributes of a good filing system
- There must be an easy access to the records so as to be able to produce them promptly as and when required;
- It must be simple to operate;
- It must be cheap and economical to operate;
- It should give room for comparison when required;
- It should have protection against any damage;
- It should have safety devices (protection against fire and theft);
- It should be protected from unauthorized personnel access;
- It should be compact and should not consume too much space;
- It should be flexible to operate.
(b) Types of indexing
- Card indexing
- Visible card indexing
- Visible loose-leaf indexing
- Wheel or Rotary indexing
- Strip indexing
- Vowel indexing
- Book indexing
- Card indexing: The index is prepared in cards and each card is allotted for one information. For example, customers, company, staff, creditors, debtors and so on.
- Visible card indexing: The card is placed flat in a transparent cover in a shallow tray or metal frame that hinges the name and address which makes it visible without touching another card.
- Visible loose-leaf indexing: This involves a sheet ruled like the pages of ordinary index which is inserted in or taken out from metal hinges or screws as and when required.
- Wheel or rotary indexing: It is a system where the cards are mounted round the hub of a wheel while the wheel moves or rotates.
- Strip indexing: This consists of strips of cards or thick paper fitted in a frame in such a way that it can be taken out or inserted. 168
- Vowel indexing: This is used when the number of correspondence is very few. It can be further classified according to vowels.
- Book indexing: It is in the form of a book or register in which every page is allotted to an alphabet.