1. A method for facilitating use of a collation element that supports a large number of characters, comprising: receiving the collation element; reading a primary weight value from a primary weight field within the collation element; if the primary weight value falls within a reserved set of values, reading an additional portion of the primary weight value from a secondary weight field and a tertiary weight field within the collation element; and if the primary weight value is not within the reserved set of values, reading a secondary weight value from the secondary weight field within the collation element, and reading a tertiary weight value from the tertiary weight field within the collation element.