“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 berrycontent architect / taxonomist

REI

old man of the library

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

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 skills and knowledge do I need?

LibrarianTaxonomist

IA

Consultant

Librarian

Taxonomist

IA

Consultant

Librarian

Taxonomist

IA

Consultant

Librarian

Taxonomist

IA

Consultant

Librarian

TaxonomistIA

Consultant

Interpersonal

Visual

Research Database

Business

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

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

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

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.

Librarian Information Architect

CatalogBusiness Information

System

AACR2LC/DDC

TaxonomyMetadata

Patron/Librarian User

information architects and librarians

• 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

productsTarget search result: Garmin 305GPS units used for cycling and costing less than $400

how taxonomists feed IAs

taxonomy is linguistics

functional label

taxonomy is linguistics

non-functional label

IA and taxonomy: shared goals

Complex data setbecomes 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

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

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.

1. Educate yourself (books/classes on business strategy, databases, etc)2. Find a good place to work: business or nonprofit3. Find a business problem that can be solved by organizing something4. Apply the principles and process (see the Polar Bear book)5. Document your steps and write up your findings6. Get in front of managers and different groups7. Learn from your own mistakes8. Learn other peoples’ jobs9. Go back to #3 and repeat

so how do I get there?

nicholas berry content architect & taxonomist

nberry@rei.com

comments and complaints

backup slides

userscontent

context

the lens model

Stakeholder information needs (business & user)

User Mental Models

Business & Technology Constraints

Metadata Model

Content Model, Domain Models

Indexing Paradigm

Findability, Usability, Brand Health

an IA methodology

IA process: details

1. Determining user information needs• Task flows• Mental models

2. Constraints and context• Technology• Domain model (how is the business organized?)• People

3. Content management• Content model/structure (taxonomy, metadata)• Content strategy (how do we get there?)• Governance, change management

4. User experience• Findability (faceted search)• Shareability (consistency of business data)• Collecting metrics for analysis

IA brings organization to content.