10. Building blocks, not stumbling blocks

My final entry is about information architecture. The term is attributed to Richard Saul Wurman who, in the 1970s, aimed to make information more understandable (see interview in InfoDesign, 2004).

When developing any information retrieval system including a website, it should be aesthetically pleasing; it needs to function properly such as download quickly, be secure and user-friendly. Navigating and searching for information has to be simple and fast. Morville and Rosenfeld use fishing to describe the way people search the Web ie perfect catch (you know exactly what you want), lobster trapping (you're looking for a variety of answers eg hotels in London) and driftnetting (you want everything on a topic) (Information Architecture for the World Wide Web, 2007, p33-34). By understanding user behaviour, you can develop systems accordingly.

For example, online shopping sites use faceted classification to enhance searching and provide shoppers with time-saving functions. When you log onto the Tesco website, it remembers what you have previously bought so you can select those items again. The public sector is also recognising the importance of personalised websites. When you log onto Redbridge Council's website, you will see information relevant to where you live, such as when your next refuse collection will be.

For library and information professionals, the challenge is in meeting the demands of users who expect a fast 24/7 service. In a University College London paper The Information Behaviour of the Researcher of the Future, it describes the way students turn to web search engines first when looking for information and how higher education and research institutions need to adapt their information retrieval systems to cater for future academics.

Technologies such as radio frequency identification (RFID) are being introduced in libraries and there are opportunities to exploit the technology further, for example, by using mobile technology to assist users in locating books and journals that may be of interest to them based on their reading habits.

^{© City University London Library}

The semantic web or Web 3.0 will revolutionise the way information is shared and will require great attention to structure and organisation - the key components of information architecture (see 2008 BBC Radio 4 Today programme interview with Sir Tim Berners-Lee). Taxonomy and ontology, the vocabulary of library and information professionals, are an integral part of this vision. As the technology becomes smarter, information will need to be readily available without users having to ask for it (see article by Silver Oliver).