INLS 150

Organizing Information

Getting Ready for Session #2 (August 26, 1996)

What do we do when we organize information or knowledge?

In order to make what we will be talking about this semester more real and to reduce the anxiety associated with a new course, I would like you to think about a problem that I face and I suspect that either you also face or will in the near future. This problem has to do with the myriad pieces of paper (and other things if you wish) that we accumulate as we move through life:

What strategies have you employed (or might you employ) to make these things accessible when you want them?
What principles for organizing things do your strategies suggest?

Jot down your thoughts for your portfolio. Also, we will be sharing our thoughts in class.

Where does the organizing information fit into the broader process of information transfer?

Organizing information, including decisions about representation, categorization, and display, is an intermediate stage in a broader system that begins with creation and selection of objects and continues through use of those objects by people.

What do we need before we can organize information?
What can we do with information after we have organized it that we can't otherwise do?

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