Information architecture web sites

By Glenda: First published in Online Currents – Vol.19 Issue 1, January/February 2004

Information architecture (IA) is a natural extension of the traditional roles of librarians and indexers. For many years I have been keeping up with developments in this expanding field. This article describes Web sites about Information Architecture that I have found useful.

Information architecture is the structuring of information for access, primarily by navigation through browse categories. In many ways it is an extension of traditional library approaches, using categorisation (classification), indexing, cataloguing (metadata creation) and thesaurus (or taxonomy) creation skills. Many librarians and library technicians now have roles in the management of library Web sites or intranets, and therefore need to know about information architecture. read more

Information Online 2007

Convergence

Considers the convergence in the work done by indexers, librarians, records managers and computer specialists, now working as information architects, taxonomists and digital librarians.

convergence in the work done by indexers, librarians, records managers and computer specialists, now working as information architects, taxonomists and digital librarians.

Information Visualisation

By Glenda: First published in Online Currents – Vol.18 Issue 8, October 2003

Information visualisation is a technique for visually presenting large quantities of information to users. It has been applied to search engine results, library catalogues, business information and scientific research data, with the aim of making information quickly accessible to end-users, and of developing new ways for users to explore data. The methods for displaying the data are often compared with traditional maps; both summarise an enormous amount of information and allow users to identify patterns and trends. read more

In Praise of Wikipedia

Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page ) is a free encyclopedia on the Web.  As it is set up in wiki format, anyone can edit or add content.  Administrators keep an eye on specific sections and make changes as needed.  Wikipedia and its associated projects, including Wiktionary (http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Main_Page ), are managed by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.

What I Love About Wikipedia
It is free to search and edit.  The project was founded by Jimmy Wales, who contributed capital and ideas.  It is now supported entirely by grants and donations. read more

Introduction to Indexing: a collection of articles by Glenda Browne

Introduction to Indexing: a collection of articles by Glenda Browne

Free EPUB download from introduction_to_indexing__a_collection_of_articles.epub.

I put this collection of articles together because I wanted to learn how to create an EPUB ebook. I have done minimal formatting and used the basic styles from Oxygen (an XML editor). I used Sigil to convert the XHTML files to EPUB format.

I have created two linked indexes, one using paragraph numbers as the text for links, and one using the main heading or subheading. I manually added ID numbers at article and section level. When the EPUB3 Indexing specification is final I am planning to create an index (to this or another work) to comply with the specification and make use of some of the new features it will allow. read more

Itching for knowledge: allergy information on the web

By Glenda: First published in Online Currents – Vol.19 Issue 2, March 2004

Asthma and allergies, especially food allergies, are a hot topic these days, as the prevalence of these conditions has increased significantly over the last generation. Australia and New Zealand have one of the highest incidences of asthma in the world, and about one in seventy Australian children are allergic to peanuts. This article covers asthma and allergies in general, with the emphasis on food allergies, as these can be chronic and life-threatening, and they affect carers of, and caterers to, sufferers, as well as the people with the allergy themselves. read more

It’s all in the index – Australian Author

It’s all in the index (PDF)

Australian Author March 2011, pp. 13-15

Notes that didn’t fit within my word limit (in order of relevance to the text):

Methold, Ken. A-Z of authorship: a professional guide Strawberry Hills, NSW: Keesing Press, 2002. Third ed (electronic), p.29

Martha Osgood gives indexing advice to authors (http://www.backwordsindexing.com/Authors.html).

Browne, Glenda and Jermey, Jonathan. The Indexing Companion Port Melbourne: CambridgeUniversity Press, 2007

The final wording of entries and cross references (see or see also) cannot be decided without the context of other entries. read more

Knowledge management publications

By Glenda: First published in Online Currents – Vol.18 Issue 6, July/August 2003

Book reviews:

Bishop, Karen. Information service professionals in knowledge-based organisations in Australia: what will we manage? A report by Karen Bishop for the University of Technology, Sydney, Department of Information Studies. Sydney: The One Umbrella, [November 2001], 65p. ($65 including GST, plus $7 postage and handling).

Bishop, Karen. New roles, skills and capabilities for the knowledge-focused organisation. BEA 003-2002. Sydney: Jointly published by The One Umbrella & Business Excellence Australia (a division of Standards Australia International Limited), December 2002, ISBN 0 7337 4874 0, 30p. Available in hardcopy at $29.92 or PDF at $26.93 (including GST). Contact Standards Australia on 1300 654 646 or sales@standards.com.au. read more