University of Texas
School of Information
INF 343 C: Information Organization and Access
Fall 2004 (25490) Professor Francis Miksa
COURSE INFORMATION
Course Description:
General principles and features of information organization and access. Basic
focus is on information in the form of purposefully created informational objects
(printed texts, sound, images, artifacts, specimens, etc.) in any of a variety of
media types (manuscript, print, audio recordings, 2- and 3-dimensional objects,
digital artifacts, etc..). Issues covered include the idea of information systems,
traditions of organizational practices, information inquirers and inquiry,
informational object attributes and representation, and languages of
representation.
Purpose :
The main purpose of the course is to provide an understanding of the basic
issues involved in organizing and providing access to informational objects
created or specially set aside by humankind.
Specific Objectives:
Upon completion of the course, each student will be able to:
1) Articulate a taxonomy of informational objects;
2) Examine informational objects in order to identify attributes useful for
representing them in information systems;
3) Articulate the role of data, metadata, metadata formats, and database
structures useful for information organization and access;
4) Identify and discuss in a rudimentary way the problems that arise with the
principal content attributes of informational objects, including subjects, forms,
genres, intended audiences, etc.;
5) Recognize and manipulate content attribute structures;
6) Articulate basic features of information access systems; and
7) Provide evidence of having synthesized the elements of informational
object organization and access.
General Approach of the Course:
1. This course will stress common principles among different traditions for
information organization and access, with illustrations of ideas, products,
and techniques taken from those various traditions.
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2. This course will combine a central focus on representing and providing
access to informational objects with an appropriate introduction to
concerns about information form and content, clients, and connections.
3. This course will attempt wherever possible to follow a "learning by
exploration" mode on the part of students by focusing on student
discovery of issues, ideas, and practices. The latter will hopefully make
up the core of class discussions and the four assignments, all of which
are designed to encourage students to identify essential issues and
assess the questions and potential answers that such identified issues
yield.
Concepts to be Emphasized:
1. Information, in the form of informational objects, can be organized in
systems of access.
2. Informational objects, purposefully created or set aside by humans and
existing in enormous numbers and varieties, need to be organized for
effective and efficient access.
3. Matching the language of information requests to the language in an
information organization system which represents informational objects is
a basic model of information organization.
4. The uses and users of information are important at every point in
organizing and providing access to information, although how knowledge
of users and use can be made to inform information systems is not well
understood.
5. Informational objects are phenomena in their own right; therefore,
identifying appropriate attributes of them lies at the root of adequately
representing them.
6. Data and metadata, based on the attributes of informational objects, are
fundamental in organizing and providing access to information.
7. Two basic modes of representing informational objects are (a) describing
the objects and (b) providing access points (index terms, search keys,
etc.) for them. In many systems, however, these two modes are not
always separated.
8. An understanding of the fundamental nature and operational
characteristics of information retrieval systems is critical for organizing and
providing access to information.
9. The display of information and other features of interface design are
separable from information system elements and structure.
Questions to be Encountered:
1. What is an informational object and how might informational objects be
viewed as classes of things?
2. What varieties and approximate numbers of informational objects exist?
3. What are informational object attributes and which such attributes are
useful for their retrieval in a system?
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4. What searching goals on the part of informational object users determine
the kinds of informational object attributes that are important?
5. How are traditions of practice (e.g., bibliography, library cataloging,
indexing and abstracting, museum organization, archival organization,
records organization, and documentation/information retrieval
organization) alike and how do they differ in their goals for information
organization and access?
6. What constitutes adequate representation of an informational object in an
information system?
7. What are the pros and cons of using an informational object’s selfdescription for the task of representing it in an information system?
8. What is metadata and how do information system metadata formats serve
the purposes of informational object representation?
9. What are the comparative strengths and weaknesses of controlled and
uncontrolled languages in informational object access systems?
10. How does one determine informational object content attributes such as
subject, form and genre, audience, etc.?
11. What is the value of providing structure in systems for informational object
access?
12. What kinds of structural properties are common in systems for
informational object access?
Class Conduct:
Since the success of this course greatly depends upon class interaction and joint
exploration of ideas, attendance in each class is critical. This course will consist
of several interwoven parts:




Class lectures & Discussion
Readings--Textbook and other (See schedule/syllabus)
Four Graded Assignments
Two In-Class Examinations: Mid-Semester (October 6) and Final
(December 8, 7-10 p.m.)
Class Lectures and Attendance:
It is important that all classes be attended because they will serve as the
principal basis for exploring and explaining issues that arise in readings and
assignments. Should a student find it impossible to attend any given class, notice
of this should be sent to the instructor via email before the class begins.
Textbooks & Readings:
Required:

Taylor, Arlene G. The Organization of Information 2nd ed., Westport,
Conn.: Libraries Unlimited, 2004. ISBN 1-56308-969-6 (pbk)
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The main bulk of the readings in this course will be from these textbooks.
However, other readings will also be required or recommended, most available
on Blackboard, some available over the Internet, and one supplied in paper
format.
Optional:

Rosenfeld, L. and Morville, Peter. Information Architecture for the World
Wide Web. 2nd ed. Sebastopol, Calif.: 2002. ISBN 0-596-00035-9 (pbk).
This is a useful information architecture text that has a good section on
organization of information. The book will be on reserve in PCL mid-semester.
Grading:
Specific grading elements of the course will have the following values in
determining the course grade:
Assignments 1-4 (10 % @) = 40%
Mid-Semester exam =
30%
Final exam
=
30%
Total
=
100%
Each of these items, including each assignment, will be graded on a 100 point
scale that has the following distribution of points:
100-99 % is equivalent to an
A+
98-93 % is equivalent to an A
92-91 % is equivalent to an A90-89 % is equivalent to a B+
88-83 % is equivalent to a B
82-81 % is equivalent to a B80-79 % is equivalent to a C+
78-73 % is equivalent to a C
72-71 % is equivalent to a Cand so on
The percentage of total points earned on a unit of grading will be multiplied by
the value that that unit of grading has for the course. Thus, if the scores on the
four assignments are 90, 89, 96, and 86, and these are worth 10 % each, what
would be applied to the course grade would be 9.0, 8.9, 9.6, and 8.6 points
respectively. When summed, they would total 36.1 pts towards the course
grade.
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Again, a score of 92% on the Mid-Semester Exam will earn 92 x 30% or 27.6
points towards the course grade. And, a score of, say, 90 on the Final Exam
would earn (90 x 30%) or 27.0 points toward the course grade.
Given the foregoing grades, the total of the scores would be 36.1 + 27.6 + 27.0
or 90.7. The latter would be rounded off to an even 91, so that the course grade
reported to the university would be an A- on the scale provided above. If for any
reason the total had reached less than 90.5, however—for example, 90.4—the
round-off process would yield a 9.0 and, therefore, a B+. [The only formal
exception to this is that if any grade ends up at .45 to .49—for example, 88.47—it
will not be rounded off to .5—i.e., 88.5—and then rounded off again to 89. In
short, only one rounding off is allowed.]
Instructor Accessibility: My formal office hours will be Tuesdays from 3:15 to
4:15 p.m. and on Wednesday’s from 4:00 to 5:00 p.m. But other appointment
times may be arranged. The very best way for students to contact either me or
my TA, Don Drumtra, besides talking to us in class or during stated office hours,
is to contact us via email. My email address is miksa@ischool.utexas.edu In all
cases of contact with us, please put the class course number—i.e., “343C”
somewhere in the message subject line.
Course TA: This semester, my Teaching Assistant for the course will be Mr. Don
Drumtra, a doctoral student in the ISchool. His email address is
drumtra@aol.com. His office hours will be 3:00 –4:00 p.m. on Tuesdays.
Blackboard:
The class will have most of its materials made available, along with other
communication and discussion opportunities via Blackboard. To gain access to
the course, you must be a registered student in the University such that your
name and userid are registered with the Blackboard system. All you need do is
go to http://courses.utexas.edu and the Blackboard system will come up. When
you login, you will be asked for your university electronic ID (EID) and password.
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