Information Organization
Why do we organize?
To understand, to make sense, to order and then locate stuff
WWW provides interesting & flexible environment
We are all becoming librarians
Information growth
Easy to publish
Forces us to organize for others
Information Ambiguity
Ambiguity is everywhere
Classification based primarily on language
Language is words โ words are ambiguous
What words we use to label
What categories we place stuff in
Classification difficult with abstract concepts, etc
Hetero- Homo- geneous
Most stuff is heterogeneous in nature
Web sites are primarily heterogeneous
Because of this, no single organization system works
Organizational Systems Intro
Information organization often based on personal preferences
Impossible to create a perfect organizational system for all
Therefore, we must research, test, and try to accommodate
And we often are faced with internal politics
Organizational Systems
Made up of schemes and structures
Organizational Scheme โ defines individual characteristics of stuff, grouping
Organizational Structure โ defines relationships between piles of stuff
Organizational Schemes
Exact Schemes
divide stuff into well-defined and mutually exclusive piles
easy to design and maintain and easy to use
minimize confusion
Alphabetical โ Chronological โ Geographical
Ambiguous Schemes
Divide stuff into categories with no exact definition
Often more important than exact schemes
Helps people find stuff, esp. if they are unable to articulate
