|
|
|
|
|
Series VPRS
774
|
|
Inward Registered Correspondence, Annual Single Number System
|
|
| Date Range: |
Series |
? 1883 - 1980 |
| |
Series in Custody |
1900 - 1980 |
| |
Contents |
1900 - 1983 |
| Public Access: |
Part Open |
| Location: |
North Melbourne |
| Format of Records: |
Physical |
  | Agency which created this SeriesAgency which created this Series |
| Agency currently responsible for this SeriesAgency currently responsible for this Series |
| Description of this SeriesDescription of this Series |
- How to use the Records
How to Use this Series
The correspondence in this series is arranged in annual single number order.
Step 1
An index is available to certain policy and subject files established from the 1950s (see VPRS 9709). If you find an entry in the Index go to Step 3.
Step 2
To retrieve other correspondence you will need to determine the final (top) number under which the item was filed. The correspondence will have been filed under its own number or if attached to subsequent correspondence to make a file, under the number of the last registered item on the file. This information is recorded in VPRS 772 Self-Indexing Register of Inward Correspondence (General and Applications for Employment). Refer to the Records Description Lists for VPRS 772.
There are separate volumes for applications for employment and for other general correspondence. The type of volume is identified in the Records Description List. Entries in the volumes marked Applications for Employment are arranged alphabetically by the surname of the applicant. A separate index to these volumes was also maintained (see VPRS 771). Entries in the volumes marked General are arranged according to the name of the correspondent or the subject of the correspondence.
Note the final (top) number under which the item was filed.
Step 3
Consult the Records Description List for this series to identify the unit (box) which contains the item you require.
Function/Content
This series comprises inward correspondence received and maintained by the Public Service Board (VA 886) between 1883 and 1980.
Approximately eighty percent of Board correspondence during that period related to positions and personnel in the public service. Much of the correspondence therefore relates to the establishment, advertisement, classification, designation and abolition of positions and to applications for employment, leave entitlements, disciplinary action, payment of gratuities, resignations and retirement, etc. In 1975 position documents ceased to be registered within the general correspondence system and a separate Position File series was established. In 1979 correspondence transactions relating to an individuals employment ceased to be registered within the general correspondence system and a series of Personal Files was established to maintain in one place a comprehensive record of an individuals service.
Other correspondence within the series relates to various policy matters, departmental structures, exempt employment, staff development and research and special projects.
System of Arrangement and Control
Document and file level control 1883-1980
It is not known when the Public Service Board, established in 1883, first began registering inward correspondence. By 1889, however, a system was in place in which each item of correspondence received by the Board was registered within an annual single number system. In an annual single number system each registered item is allocated a sequential number which is prefixed or suffixed by the year of registration. The numbers commence from one at the beginning of each year. For example, the twenty-third item registered in 1895 would have been allocated the number 95/23.
In the annual single number system established by the Board a distinction was made between applications for employment in the public service and other general inward correspondence. This distinction was primarily made during the two part registration process. The first part of the registration process simply involved the allocation of the registration number. The second part of the registration process involved recording full details about when the correspondence was received and registered, the name of the correspondent (corporate or individual), the subject of the correspondence, referral of the correspondence to other offices and the attachment of correspondence to subsequent papers. Until 1962 there were always two volumes maintained simultaneously for recording full registration details: one for applications for employment (marked Applications for Employment on the spine) and one for all other correspondence (marked General on the spine). These volumes were numbered in a single sequence. From 1962 applications for employment were registered under a separate system (see VPRS 9708) and hence only the General register continued through to 1980.
Although two volumes were used simultaneously until 1962, registration numbers were allocated from a single sequence. This was done from the Numerical Register of Inward Correspondence (VPRS 770) which comprises a list of sequential numbers against which are recorded, in two columns, the volume and folio (page) numbers of the full registration. The left hand column lists the entries in the volumes used for Applications for Employment and the right hand column lists entries in the volumes used for General correspondence.
The volumes comprising the Self-Indexing Register of Inward Correspondence (General and Applications for Employment) (VPRS 772) are divided into sections according to predetermined categories. In the volumes used for Applications for Employment the sections are identified by letters of the alphabet (A,B,C etc.). Entries were made in these volumes under the surname of the applicant. A separate index to these volumes was also maintained (see VPRS 771). In the volumes used for General correspondence the sections are identified by the names of organisations (mostly Government Departments) or subject areas. Entries were made in these volumes under the name of the correspondent or the subject of the correspondence.
The correspondence received was filed in annual single number order. If a subsequent item of correspondence related to the same matter as a previous item, it was common practice of the Board to attach the earlier item to the later one(s). In this way files were built up. The attached documents were then filed under the registration number of the last or top item. This practice is known as top-numbering. The Self Indexing Register recorded the attachment of documents so that the top number could be identified and the correspondence retrieved.
By the 1950s file level control was introduced for some files. The files ceased to be top-numbered. Subsequent items attached to the files were not registered in their own right but were allocated the number by which the file was already identified. A card index (VPRS 9709) was created from this time to assist with the retrieval of these files and facilitate the attachment of new papers to them. The Index comprises two alphabetical sequences. One sequence indexes files by subjects and titles and the other sequence indexes files by names of Government Departments.
From circa 1962 a separate series of Personal Files was established. These files included applications for employment and various attachments which had previously been registered and filed within the main correspondence system. From 1962 applications for employment were registered under a separate system (see VPRS 9708) which utilised a block of registration numbers. It is not known how these files were arranged (in numerical or alphabetical order), although presumably they were maintained separately from the general correspondence. These files have not been located as at 1996. In 1975 a series of Position Files was established. Prior to 1975 correspondence relating to positions in the public service was registered as general correspondence and should be located within this series.
File level control from 1980
In 1980 the system of document level control ceased and a file level control system was introduced. The new system comprises Correspondence Files (VPRS 8857), File Registration and Movement Cards (VPRS 8860) and an automated file registration and indexing system known as TRACE (for outputs see VPRS 8859). The new system continues the tradition of annual single number registration.
- Function / Content
- Recordkeeping System
| More research resourcesMore research resources |
| Indexes and RegistersIndexes and Registers |
Date Range
|
Series Title
|
Series Number
|
| 1883 - 1980 |
Numerical Register of Inward Correspondence (General ?1883-1980 and Applications for Employment ?1883-1962), Annual Single Number System |
VPRS 770 |
| 1883 - 1980 |
Self-Indexing Register of Inward Correspondence (General ?1883-1980 and Applications for Employment ?1883-1962),Annual Single Number System |
VPRS 772 |
| 1950 - 1978 |
Card Index to Inward Registered Correspondence, Annual Single Number System |
VPRS 9709 |
| Controlled SeriesControlled Series |
| Previous SeriesPrevious Series |
| Subsequent SeriesSubsequent Series |
| List/s of records in this seriesList/s of records in this series |
| Indexes and RegistersIndexes and Registers |
|
Date Range
|
Series Title
|
Series Number
|
| 1883 - 1980 |
Numerical Register of Inward Correspondence (General ?1883-1980 and Applications for Employment ?1883-1962), Annual Single Number System |
VPRS 770 |
| 1883 - 1980 |
Self-Indexing Register of Inward Correspondence (General ?1883-1980 and Applications for Employment ?1883-1962),Annual Single Number System |
VPRS 772 |
| 1950 - 1978 |
Card Index to Inward Registered Correspondence, Annual Single Number System |
VPRS 9709 |
| More research resourcesMore research resources |
|
|
Help On This Page
A series is a group of records which are recorded or maintained by the same agency (or agencies)
Series information helps you to understand the context of records - why, when and by whom they were created.
To locate records use the "Accessing the records" tab.
More about series details pages
|
|
|
|
|