“ You know I always wanted to pretend that I was an architect.” - George Costanza, Seinfeld Alternative Career Paths for Librarians

10 years as a Public Librarian 7 years as a Corporate Librarian 2 years as an Information Architect 9 years as a Taxonomist 1 year as a Consultant my cred nick berry content architect / taxonomist REI old man of the library

10 years as a Public Librarian

7 years as a Corporate Librarian

2 years as an Information Architect

9 years as a Taxonomist

1 year as a Consultant

Your SKILLS and KNOWLEDGE as a librarian can be applied toward other careers. Harness your powers for good: Better salary Greater respect Broader knowledge More job opportunities we are gathered here today…. Giuseppe Arcimboldo

Your SKILLS and KNOWLEDGE as a librarian can be applied toward other careers.

Harness your powers for good:

Better salary

Greater respect

Broader knowledge

More job opportunities

What other job titles can librarians aspire to? Here they are, in order of coolness: Information Architect (IA) Information Management Consultant Taxonomist Crazy Cat Lady (just kidding) who are these people? lego library

What other job titles can librarians aspire to?

Here they are, in order of coolness:

Information Architect (IA)

Information Management Consultant

Taxonomist

Crazy Cat Lady (just kidding)

what skills and knowledge do I need? Librarian Taxonomist IA Consultant Librarian Taxonomist IA Consultant Librarian Taxonomist IA Consultant Librarian Taxonomist IA Consultant Interpersonal Visual Research Database Business Librarian Taxonomist IA Consultant

librarians: profile librarian promoting useful skills Librarians organize and locate information for patrons of the library. Librarians’ skills organizing information makes them better finders of information, and… … librarians’ skills finding information makes them better organizers.

Librarian skill: organization of data librarians: profile

information architects: profile architecture gone bad. Information architects apply data from: user research and testing business requirements content properties analytical tools They produce the following deliverables: site map wireframes visual design mockup or prototype site navigation style guides

Information architects apply data from:

user research and testing

business requirements

content properties

analytical tools

They produce the following deliverables:

site map

wireframes

visual design mockup or prototype

site navigation

style guides

Web sites are libraries. Customer service is the process of making libraries easier to use. User-centered design is the process of making web sites easier to use. It’s all about the user experience. Users are patrons and the experience is finding information easily. IA and librarians: shared goals Representing information accurately in the user interface.

PP PP PP PP PP Splash Page Search Results Page Top Nav Bar Shopping Cart why architecture? Web sites are like buildings. Pages are like rooms. Your info is in a room. To find the room you want, you have to find the route. Building a site with clear routes through the pages depends on links. Links are nothing more than words. Which leads us to taxonomies…. PP = Product Page

Categorization. Taxonomists find patterns in the content and break them down into components. These are repeatable elements that can be used, measured, and adapted. Examples: content type, subject, and intended use. Taxonomist must deeply understand the content and the business to which it applies. Deliverables: Content audit Content analysis Taxonomy Metadata schema Content map/Domain model taxonomist: profile

Deliverables:

Content audit

Content analysis

Taxonomy

Metadata schema

Content map/Domain model

Illustrates the danger of ivory tower navel-gazing induced by lack of user research. the role of research Taxonomists must stay in touch with their users, or else risk creating non-functional information systems. Ways to stay in touch with users: card sorts site navigation analytics Google keyword analysis surveys task analysis and other usability tests direct comments

Taxonomists must stay in touch with their users, or else risk creating non-functional information systems.

Ways to stay in touch with users:

card sorts

site navigation analytics

Google keyword analysis

surveys

task analysis and other usability tests

direct comments

Metadata is the language used to identify digital resources. LC or DDC defines the language used to identify books, articles, and print resources. A taxonomist is a cataloger on steroids: develops the subject headings designs the cataloging rules taxonomists vs. catalogers For experienced professionals only. Don’t try this at home.

A taxonomist is a cataloger on steroids:

develops the subject headings

designs the cataloging rules

Librarian Information Architect Catalog Business Information System Taxonomy Metadata Patron/Librarian User information architects and librarians AACR2 LC/DDC

faceted navigation, AKA parametric search breaks down content into attributes (parameters) helps reduce search results to a manageable set Electronics GPS Units Altimeters Heart Rate Monitors Activity Cycling Hiking Travelling Price <$400 $400 - $600 >$600 Brand axis Activity axis Price axis products Target search result: Garmin 305 GPS units used for cycling and costing less than $400 how taxonomists feed IAs

faceted navigation, AKA parametric search

breaks down content into attributes (parameters)

helps reduce search results to a manageable set

Electronics

GPS Units

Altimeters

Heart Rate Monitors

Activity

Cycling

Hiking

Travelling

Price

<$400

$400 - $600

>$600

taxonomy is linguistics functional label

taxonomy is linguistics non-functional label

IA and taxonomy: shared goals Complex data set becomes a simple picture, its meaning apparent at a glance.

Consulting is a balancing act. information management consultant IM consultants solve business problems oversee system implementations sell and champion IA produce reams of paperwork Deliverables: use cases business cases (justifications for work) governance processes implementation roadmaps

IM consultants

solve business problems

oversee system implementations

sell and champion IA

produce reams of paperwork

Deliverables:

use cases

business cases (justifications for work)

governance processes

implementation roadmaps

the content lifecycle IM consultants must be able to: Walk in the door of an unfamiliar company Analyze their content resources and information flow Learn the business across divisional boundaries Recommend changes to workflow, often to hostile executives or directors It’s not for the faint of heart, but experience breeds confidence

IM consultants must be able to:

Walk in the door of an unfamiliar company

Analyze their content resources and information flow

Learn the business across divisional boundaries

Recommend changes to workflow, often to hostile executives or directors

It’s not for the faint of heart, but experience breeds confidence

seeing it as you really are IM consultants are challenged to see the big picture. They have to be the visionaries in the face of entrenched opposition. They must understand all parts of the information system, especially how information and content affect the overall business strategy.

Educate yourself (books/classes on business strategy, databases, etc) Find a good place to work: business or nonprofit Find a business problem that can be solved by organizing something Apply the principles and process (see the Polar Bear book) Document your steps and write up your findings Get in front of managers and different groups Learn from your own mistakes Learn other peoples’ jobs Go back to #3 and repeat so how do I get there?

Educate yourself (books/classes on business strategy, databases, etc)

Find a good place to work: business or nonprofit

Find a business problem that can be solved by organizing something

Apply the principles and process (see the Polar Bear book)

Document your steps and write up your findings

Get in front of managers and different groups

Learn from your own mistakes

Learn other peoples’ jobs

Go back to #3 and repeat

nicholas berry content architect & taxonomist [email_address] comments and complaints

backup slides

users content context the lens model

an IA methodology Stakeholder information needs (business & user) User Mental Models Business & Technology Constraints Metadata Model Content Model, Domain Models Indexing Paradigm Findability, Usability, Brand Health

IA process: details Determining user information needs Task flows Mental models Constraints and context Technology Domain model (how is the business organized?) People Content management Content model/structure (taxonomy, metadata) Content strategy (how do we get there?) Governance, change management User experience Findability (faceted search) Shareability (consistency of business data) Collecting metrics for analysis IA brings organization to content.

Determining user information needs

Task flows

Mental models

Constraints and context

Technology

Domain model (how is the business organized?)

People

Content management

Content model/structure (taxonomy, metadata)

Content strategy (how do we get there?)

Governance, change management

User experience

Findability (faceted search)

Shareability (consistency of business data)

Collecting metrics for analysis