Information and its Organization
Learning Outcomes
By the conclusion of the master’s degree program, students should be able to:
- explain major concepts, theories, issues and trends in knowledge representation and information organization
- explain the relationship between information organization and information retrieval
- explain information-seeking behavior in theoretical and practical terms
- demonstrate proficient professional skills in information searching
- explain and demonstrate the techniques of bibliographic organization and control
- explain the principles and techniques of physical and digital preservation of materials
Description
During ISCI 706, Information Organization and Access, I completed an assignment focused on investigating the process of using Information Retrieval (IR) systems. IR refers to the methods and processes used to search, locate, and retrieve data and information from various sources, such as search engines, full-text databases, and bibliographic databases. For this assignment I chose to compare the process of using the Google Books (GB) catalog and the Library of Congress (LOC) catalog. Some of the search methods I used to explore each system included keyword searching, field-based keyword searching, controlled vocabulary searching, and Boolean searching. I highlighted the importance of mastering various IR methods for effective information organization and access and emphasized the need for continuous improvement in IR systems. Improvements that can be made include enhancing metadata quality, publication availability, and system usability.
Read or download the paper below.
Analysis
While completing this assignment, I developed a deep understanding of IR techniques and practiced using advanced search strategies to efficiently retrieve precise and relevant information. I chose to analyze one IR system I was already familiar with, GB, and one system I hadn’t used much, LOC. I knew GB was easy to use and had many advanced features, and so would be ideal for the assignment. In contrast, I thought I might struggle with the LOC catalog, but I quickly figured out how to use it because it was similar to other library catalogs I have used in the past. Still, using GB was more intuitive, likely because, as a commercial service, GB is incentivized to make their service as easy as possible to use. While using GB, I found some inaccurate metadata, which surprised me; because it has more information and greater resources, I expected that GB’s metadata would be impeccable.
The difficulty in finding the book “Treasure Island” in the LOC catalog, despite using advanced search options, highlighted limitations in the system that I did not expect to find. The reliance on metadata rather than GB’s social indexing and full-text search limited the effectiveness of a basic search. As expected, GB’s search capabilities often yielded more relevant results. My paper thoroughly and clearly illustrated the ease of finding a book in GB versus the more onerous LOC search process. Completing this assignment reinforced for me the value of mastering advanced IR techniques; utilizing advanced techniques made it easier and more efficient to find information in both GB and LOC.
Reflection
While writing this paper, I gained insight into the complexities of IR systems that are relevant to my role as an information professional. The issue of biases in controlled vocabularies and authority records is one that I had not previously scrutinized. After this assignment, I have a greater awareness of how these biases could influence search outcomes and the representation of information. I now carefully and critically view standardized terminology in cataloging and classification. To improve my work, I will continue to carefully examine metadata types, indexing methods, and search techniques, and assess the impact of these factors on information retrieval. At the same time, I will maintain the thorough and critical approach that served me well in this assignment, leading to ongoing professional improvement.