Competency G

Preparation and Evidence

Cataloging systems are a reflection of information seeking behaviors, an analysis that studies how users access information. Many would associate cataloging systems as systems of organization, and that is not wrong; however, the process of organization is a derivative of the mental process in humans.

INFO 202 Information Retrieval System Design enhanced my understanding in this area by learning about controlled vocabularies, analyzing retrieval systems, and designing information systems for users. As noted above, the organization of systems is part of the design process influenced by humans. The assignment that culminated my competence for classification systems is a card sorting assignment. Card sorting is common during the pre-stages of designing information retrieval systems. "Card sorting generates an overall structure for your information, as well as suggestions for navigation, menus, and possible taxonomies" (Spencer, 2004, para. 4). This inexpensive technique helps identify how users group information which provides an analysis of how people search for information. People may group information differently just like they search for information differently. Card sorting also attempts to find answers to users information needs by comparing results between users to test how to classify information. In terms of navigation, Spencer (2004) states that this portion has a lot to do with the principal categories users highlight as they sort the cards.

It has been more than two years since I performed the card sorting assignment, but not all of the details have shied away from my mind. The assignment sought to understand how users would categorize information to utilize this information and create a navigation system for a website intended to display information about a curator's life. The cards had different terms printed on them, mostly nouns, names of people or items. As I printed and cut up the terms, I was unsure of whom to ask to perform the card sorting test. I weigh my options and decided to ask my coworkers to perform the card sorting test. I chose this group of individuals because I wanted to analyze two things. First, I wanted to examine if their exposure and daily use of library catalogs and classification systems influenced their classification decisions. Secondly, I wanted to observe how similarily they classified and organized categories. I performed the card sorting test on three people, two library aides, and one library assistant. The library aides made a category for family and listed all cards with names on them. The library assistant created a category for artifacts and listed only cards with names of items such as maps, photographs, and menus. While all three participants asked questions during the process, the library assistant was the most peculiar participant because he wanted to create new cards to satisfy his organizational needs. I did not allow him to do this because I wanted to observe his utilization of the cards. In a different setting, I would have encouraged his behavior because card sorting is part of a study that analyzes information seeking behaviors.

After I collected my results, I consulted with my group to examine the results form their participants. The results are listed in the image below, which can also be found on the document.

In total, our results demonstrate that more than 6 people created categories of 7 or more, and were influenced by the terms, artifacts, and family. From our analysis, we concluded the following:

• Those that organized their categories by the term family made a connection to people in their lives. A website designed to represent a curator's life is reflective of people that impact their journeys or adventures in life.
• The people that chose the term artifacts to organize information thought it would be easier to navigate a website based on artifacts and not people's names because the organization of subsections will consist of formats.

Nielsen (2004) states that information architecture depends on the users and how they navigate systems. Nielsen (2004) and Spencer (2004) clarify that card sorts are great for tapping into people's mental model, but that developers should not solely rely on card sorts to design an information retrieval systems. Users have a way of navigating information, and the purpose of this activity, much like any other activity, is to learn why users approach information the way that they do. Nielsen (2004) reminds us that information retrieval systems are for users and therefore it is imperative that our designs reflect users needs. People use diverse navigation systems to retrieve and access information, and the goal of information architecture and information retrieval systems is to guide the users in locating information rather quickly. Controlled vocabularies aid the developed of navigation systems, and card sorts are a reflection of that. A navigation system or classification systems that prolong the information gathering process is deemed as week an ineffective because it does not aid the users' experience as they engage in information seeking behaviors.

Future Applications

It is fascinating to have learned that catalog systems are a component of evolving technology in libraries. I grew up in the 90s where card catalogs were very popular and until recently, "CLC printed its last library catalog cards on October 1, 2015, ending an era that lasted more than 150 years" (Coyle, 2016). The future of catalog systems will only continue to evolve because the way people retrieve information changes daily. Keeping up with current information trends the analyze how people access information puts developers and information architects at an advantage.

Taking these courses allowed me to understand the design behind catalog systems. Since 2014, I have used the libraries catalog daily for work, to search for items, or teach others how to locate sources via our digital libraries. However, I never put thought into how these systems are designed or how they impact my community. In the past, there have been users that inquire about the information displayed after they have engaged in a navigation search. Depending on the location or existence of the item, the generated response will differ. The user may receive a display of a table that separates the branches to show if the item is available or not or they may recieves a series of string text. The outlook format is easy to understand in my opinion, but for someone that does not use the catalog often, I can see how the information architecture of this information retrieval system may pose challenges for the user. As a future librarian, I do not intend to modify our catalog systems, but I do believe in educating the public on how to use this tool so that they could benefit from our services outside library hours. The modern-day catalog is not just a place where you can search for books or other materials; rather it is a system that allows users to access digital materials, stream media, access online learning tools, and find information from our databases.