Overview: Libraries and Information Users
In the same way that a library is more than the books, a website is more than the individual web pages. Although a website needs a meaningful context and quality content, information architecture is really focused on the end users. To bring the website to life takes an awareness of the needs and behaviors of the users.
Read Building a Library Web Site on the Pillars of Web 2.0 by Karen A. Coombs in Computers in Libraries (January 2007) at Information Today.
Information Needs
When attempting to satisfy our information needs we look for ideas and concepts that inform us and help us to make decisions. Some strategies include:
- known-item seeking - when you know what you're looking for, what to call it and where you'll find it
- exploratory seeking - when you're not exactly sure what you're looking for and you're really looking to learn something from the process of searching and browsing
- exhaustive search - when you're looking for everything on a specific subject
Information Seeking Behaviors
Searching, browsing and asking are all methods we use to find information. At the same time we also use the processes of integration and iteration to deepen the experience. We often integrate browsing, searching and asking over many iterations before collecting the perfect set of results.
Consider the following two approaches to information seeking. These approaches have been around for quite a while. Which do you generally use? Or, do you consider these approaches dated and no longer applicable?
Berry-Picking Model. Although developed before the existence of the Web, this model developed by Dr. Marcia Bates in 1989 still has relevance. In this model users start with an information need, formulate a request (query), then move through an information system picking up bits of information (berries) along the way - along the way modifying the requests as they learn more about what they want and what information is available.
Pearl-Growing Model. In this model, users start with one or a few good documents that are exactly on point, then get more like that one. They use search tools to find "similar documents." People often do this with term papers. They find one quality paper and look at the citations.
Read Chapter 3: User Needs and Behaviors in Information Architecture for the World Wide Web, 3rd edition by Peter Morville & Louis Rosenfeld.
Learn More
The Design of Browsing and Berrypicking Techniques for the Online Search Interface by Marcia Bates (1989)