Special Characters

The only characters to be entered are shown in the table below:

! # $ % & * , / Numbers 9-0 Letters A-z

Use the following procedures for all other characters:

For indexing purposed there are four groups of special characters (or marks).

1. Special characters, dependent on context, the character should either:

   1. Be replaced by a space when separating words or

   2. Be ignored when separating characters not amounting to a word;

2. The Ampersand, dependent on context, should either:

   1. Be preceded and followed by a space when between characters and a word or between two words; or

   2. Not be preceded or followed by a space when between characters not amounting to words.

3. Punctuation marks, the mark should be ignored;

4. Pronunciation marks, only the underlying character should be entered; and

5. All other characters.  An asterisk should replace the character.  If any name begins with any such character the name should be entered twice:

   1. Once without the leading invalid character and

   2. Once with the asterisk (*) replacing the leading invalid character.

The characters in the table below should be replaced with an asterisk (*) when found in a business name.

^ @ + ¢ + = < >

*”All other characters” means any character not specifically excluded in the above text.  For example, do not replace punctuation marks or pronunciation marks with asterisks, they are to be ignored and replaced with a space or no space depending on context.

The special characters generally have a usage as a connector between two words or as a connector between two or more characters.  When they are connecting marks between two words it is inappropriate to ignore them, leaving no space between two words.  Depending on the context, between words and between characters and words these characters are to be replaced with a space to provide a separator between words.  However, when these characters appear between letters or numerals which are not words it is inappropriate to insert spaces between such characters.  Between characters not amounting to a word such marks shall be ignored.  If the indexer is in doubt as to the existence of a word for the purposes of replacing it with a space or not, it would be appropriate to make multiple entries.

The ampersand (&) is always used in the place of “and.”  It also depends upon the context when the “&” should be preceded by a space and followed by a space or not preceded and followed by spaces.  Spacing should be used to set the “&” apart when the ampersand is between two words or between a string of characters not amounting to a word and another word.  Spaces should not surround the “&” otherwise.

Punctuation marks are used to identify divisions of clauses, phrases or groups of words or sentences.  All punctuation marks (except for the limited use of the comma) should not be entered into the index.  When punctuation is encountered it should be ignored (dropped) from the name.  A special exception applies to the use of a period in decimal fractions in business names.

Pronunciation marks and symbols direct one in the speaking of certain words and letters.  These marks appear frequently in some foreign languages.  In this group are accents, dieresis, macrons, stress marks, circumflex, and a variety of other symbols appearing above letters.  When a pronunciation mark or symbol is encountered the letter below such mark should be entered and the mark should not.  If no letter is below any such mark, the mark should be ignored.

All other marks should be replaced with an asterisk.  The asterisk is the default for all characters not authorized for use in the index other than the special marks, punctuation, ampersand and pronunciation marks.

Name presented: @Com Services

Would be indexed as:

*COM SERVICES

COM SERVICES

The name above is indexed twice because the special character is the first character of the name.

Name presented: Tom’s Food Corp

Would be indexed as:

TOMS FOOD CORP

Name presented: {1=1} Company

Would be indexed as:

1*1 Co

The brackets in the name above are considered punctuation, therefore they are ignored.

Name presented: Barclays/American Financial Corp

Would be indexed as:

BARCLAYS AMERICAN FINANCIAL CORP

Name presented: Bar-B-Que House

Would be indexed as:

BARBQUE HOUSE

Name presented: Asset-Backed Certificates Series 2005-1 U/A DTD 5/19/2005

Would be indexed as:

ASSET BACKED CERTIFICATES SERIES 2005 1 UA DTD 5/19/2005

Remember, slashes are allowed in dates and fractions.

Name presented: Harley-Davidson Motorcycles

Would be indexed as:

HARLEY DAVIDSON MOTORCYCLES

Name presented: You + Me = Success

Would be indexed as:

YOU * ME * SUCCESS