Joyce, B.R., & Joyce, E.A. (1970). The creation of information systems for children. Interchange, 1(2), 1-12.

For me this is one of the most influential pieces that I have read over the years as it got me thinking about the connections between information systems and their users in ways that had not occurred to me before. This research report looks at the design of an educational information system pertaining to the Pueblo culture of the Southwest US. As you read the article, look in particular at the design principles (a la organizing information) that underlay the research. Think about the use of these principles in this particular report and the possibility of their broader applicability. Consider how user testing is employed in the redesign of the initial classification scheme.

• What strengths and/or limitations do you see in the design and evaluation approach employed by Joyce & Joyce?

• How did the understanding of the information interests of children inform the redesign of the classification scheme used for information access?

Keister, Lucinda H. (1994). User types and queries: Impact on image access systems. In: Fidel, R. et al. (Eds.), Challenges in Indexing Electronic Texts and Images (pp. 7-22), Medford, NJ: Learned Information for the American Society for Information Science.

This selection looks at some of the issues that come up in making a collection of images accessible to people.

• How would knowing that people submit a query like: "I want a picture of the oval office with swedish ivy on the mantle piece" influence your thinking about "organizing" a collection of images?

Solomon, Paul. (1992). User-based methods for classification development. Advances in Classification Research, 2, 163-170.

This article provides two examples of empirical research on information system use and information behavior and their applicability to classification development.

• In what ways and with what methods might we make user assessment an integral part of our process of organizing information?

Burns, Christopher. (1991). Three Mile Island: The Information Meltdown (Ch. 3). In: F.W. Horton & D. Lewis, Great Information Disasters, London: Aslib.

This selection describes the Three Mile Island nuclear power disaster from an information perspective.

• What problems in organizing information contributed to this disaster?

• How might have consideration of the human information processing system or the users of the control room helped in anticipating at least some of these problems?

• What would you suggest doing to prevent similar problems from occurring in the future (given what you know about three-mile island)?

Note: There are a number of sites on the WEB with more current information on nuclear power. For instance, http://www.seattletimes.com/trinity/articles/part3.html provides a glimpse of a control room in current use.

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