can be established. If a report is late, the purpose of the system and perhaps the report itself is defeated. Tickler System The tickler system provides an index to the required reports and shows the submission date of each. The manner in which a tickler file is made up may vary with each command. It is suggested that you use 5-inch by 8-inch cards with separations or tabs marked as follows: DAILY January through WEEKLY December MONTHLY QUARTERLY SEMIANNUALLY  1  through  31  for  use with current month ANNUALLY WHEN OCCURRING (SITUATIONAL) Although it may not be necessary to use aall the tabs or separators, depending on the makeup of your file, those separators are generally placed in a standard-size box (called the tickler box) with the Reports Record Card, OPNAV 5214/5, tiled between the appropriate separators to reflect the tickler date on which the report should be prepared. The report tickler file requires daily attention if it is to be an effective aid. In addition to current reports, the reports tickler file may be used for the following: . As a reminder of action required on incoming mail,  such  as  a  reply  that  may  be  required  on  an incoming  letter .  As  a  reminder  of  nonreceipt  of  a  reply  to  an outgoing letter from your command Tickler cards maybe prepared to serve the purposes of  either  of  the  previous  conditions.  However,  an  easier and more economical method would be to attach the third copy of the routing slip to incoming mail. In the case of outgoing mail, file a copy of the correspondence itself in the appropriate place in the tickler box to serve as a reminder of action required. Notice to Departments To make sure departments submit all reports when due, a command should have a system for alerting them in sufficient time before the actual due date. This may be done in one or both of the following ways: . Add a list of all the reports that will come due in the following week to the command’s weekly list of overdue reports/correspondence. This is a recommended  practice  for  improving  timeliness  in reports  submissions. . Provide a reports tickler card to offices preparing reports.   This   can   stimulate   good   two-way communication between the departments concerned and  the  reports  control  office. RECORDS DISPOSAL All  tasks  connected  with  files,  including  their disposition, must be taken seriously. Since you maybe responsible for the work of juniors, you may also be directly involved in the proper disposal of tiles that have served their purpose. Decisions to save or not save must not be avoided by saving all your tiles. No matter how firmly you believe that disposing of a file today will mean someone will need it tomorrow, holding files simply because someone might need them is not good management. If you are in doubt about disposal of certain records, avoid taking it upon yourself to either retain them or dispose of them. Before any decision is reached where doubt exists, consult with your superiors to decide what course of action should be taken. The Navy  and  Marine  Corps  Records  Disposition Manual,  SECNAVINST   5212.5C,   spells   out   the retention   period   of   official   files.   It   also   gives information  about  whether  official  files  must  be destroyed or forwarded to a records center at the end of their retention period. DEFINING RECORDS It is possible that your tiles contain material that is not considered to be official record material. Pamphlets, books,  extra  copies  of  letters,  directives,  and  so  forth, are sometimes taking up space because nobody made a decision with regard to their retention value. Whether official or unofficial, material in your tiles must be disposed of at regular specified period. It must not be allowed to remain in your files longer than necessary. The statutory definition of records, 82 Statute 1299, as  amended,  defines  records  as  all  documentary material, including books, papers, maps, photographs, machine-readable  materials,  or  other  documentary materials, regardless of physical form or characteristics made or received by an agency of the United States Government under federal law in connection with the 6-7