Links on Information Architecture

The Five laws of library science

S. R. Ranganathan, known as the “the father of library science in India”, and respected by librarians all over the world, proposed five laws of library science. Many librarians worldwide accept them as the foundations of their philosophy (e.g. Koehler et al., 2000)
These laws are:

  1. Books are for use.
  2. Every reader his [or her] book.
  3. Every book its reader.
  4. Save the time of the User.
  5. The library is a growing organism.

The Five Laws of Library Science are some of the most influential concepts in that field. Since they were published in 1931, these five laws “have remained a centerpiece of professional values…” (Rubin 2004). These basic theories of Library Science continue to directly affect the development of this discipline and the service of all libraries.

The Five laws of library science

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Types of Breadcrumbs- Location, Path & Attribute

Three type of breadcrumbs on the web are defined, examples are given of each, and a set of research questions involving breadcrumbs are presented. Location breadcrumbs, the most common, show the single location of a page within a site. Path breadcrumbs, which are becoming more common with database-driven sites, show the particular path the user has taken within the site to the page.
Attribute breadcrumbs are meta-information within the site that are represented in a breadcrumb-like fashion.

Location, Path & Attribute Breadcrumbs

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Card Sorting: How Many Users to Test

Summary
Testing ever-more users in card sorting has diminishing returns, but you should still use three times more participants than you would in traditional usability tests.

Card Sorting: How Many Users to Test

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The Journal of Information Architecture

The Journal of Information Architecture is a peer-reviewed scholarly journal. Its aim is to facilitate the systematic development of the scientific body of knowledge in the field of information architecture.

The long term goal of the journal is to serve as a forum for new research and sharing of good ideas and case studies that are useful to the field’s researchers, practitioners, students, and all other interested parties.

The Journal of Information Architecture

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Intranet Usability Reports

Intranet Usability Reports by Nielsen Norman Group (available for a price but none the less worth it)

  • Intranet Usability Guidelines, vol. 1-10
  • Intranet Portals
  • Intranet Information Architecture (IA)
  • Intranet Design Annuals: 2001 to 2009
  • Financial Services Companies’ Intranets
  • Technology Companies’ Intranets
  • Knowledge-Intensive Companies’ Intranets
  • Industrial and Manufacturing Companies’ Intranets
  • Retail Companies’ Intranets
  • Government Agencies/Public Sector Intranets

Intranet Usability Reports by Nielsen Norman Group

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Mega Drop-Down Navigation Menus Work Well

Summary:
Big, two-dimensional drop-down panels group navigation options to eliminate scrolling and use typography, icons, and tooltips to explain the user’s choices.

Mega Drop-Down Navigation Menus Work Well

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A visual vocabulary for describing information architecture and interaction design

Summary
Diagrams are an essential tool for communicating information architecture and interaction design in Web development teams. This document discusses the considerations in development of such diagrams, outlines a basic symbology for diagramming information architecture and interaction design concepts, and provides guidelines for the use of these elements.

A visual vocabulary for describing information architecture and interaction design

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