Information Overload & Personal Information Management

2010 ALA Annual Conference
LITA BIGWIG Social Software Showcase
June 28, 2010. Washington D.C.
Information Overload &Personal Information Management

@bohyunkim – Twitter
bohyun.kim [at] fiu.edu –E-mail
Bohyunkim.net - Website
Bohyun Kim

How is you work-day spent?

E-MailPhoneMailboxBlogsReports, Documents, Quotes …IMWeb Memos, Notebook, Print-outs… CalendarSmartPhoneTwitter

Being Busy ≠ Productive / Efficient

Getting into the position to work ≠ Getting Work Done

Define Information Overload

Information 0verloadDeterioration ofdecision-making & productivity due toIPR > IPC (working memory) or,a resulting psychological state

StressAnxietyConfusionBeing Overwhelmed Being Unable to Concentrate

Why should librariescare about information overload ?

Information overload is the everyday reality of library users seeking information for decision-making /research.

21,500,000 results from Google1,110 matching items from the library catalog372 Records found in a database10 page double-space paper

Literature SearchReading them allMaking a memoGoing back to sources – which file? which paper?Looking for ideas among different memosDifferent versions of draftsE-mails with an editorCorrespondence with a publishersBibliographiesRevisionsScholarly publication

Libraries tend to focus on…

Problem has changed…

The traditional approach focuses on casting a wide net &narrowing down toquality informationBut what aboutinformation fatigue?

Information Fatigue&Satisficing

Abundance of information + Too many devices, systems, tools, formats, communication channels + Information fragmentation+Constant interruption = Loss of Control

Whatcan you do?What can a library do?

5 Factors in Info Overload

Information
Technology
Person
Task/Process
Organization Design

Environment
Personal
File or Pile?Organize by what scheme?How to find & re-find? Keep or Weed?Gather again or Re-use?

Information
Technology
Person
Task/Process
You
Organization Design

Information
Technology
Person
Library
Task/Process
You
Organization Design

Systems that do not speak to each other&Tools that lack good search-find function/organization scheme make information management extremely challenging

How do library systems measure up?

Do the library systems facilitate or hamper users completing a project?Do they make users efficient and productive or frustrated and slow them down?

One-Time Access and Use of Informationvs.Life Cycle of Information

Are we, libraries, satisficing?

Thank you!

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Information Overload & Personal Information Management

by Bohyun Kim on Jun 21, 2010

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