[Sigia-l] Findability

[Drop, Daniel]

After reading Derek's well-documented treatise against findability, I get
the impression that we're not talking about solely the riddance of
categorization.  For example, he, in one area, specifically addresses a
problem of 'over-categorization'.  The categorization that is described in
his argument is the categorization of a document, a web page, or in terms of
librarianship, the literature. It does not seem to dismiss the need for
organizing items together under 'categories' within a document or piece of
literature.  

Derek's solution describes what must be done from within the document to
create accuracy of expression.  The solution does not seem to help with
those people who must bring together disparate documents together for the
sake of a user seeking information: documents often not written by
professionals.  The sense I am feeling is that, if one accepts Derek's
argument, Information Architects are those that place the solution within
the documents themselves.  There is still a need to put together disparate
documents.  Is the person who needs to do that also an IA?  From Derek's
argument, I would think they are not because this necessitates adding
information to documents since the documents do not have proper architecture
themselves.  In librarianship, this is necessary 'findability'.  

Maybe this argument is another issue of an age-old IA problem, 'What is
Information Architecture?"  "What is not?" Findability is from without,
Derek's solution is from within. Are both examples of IA? I have to admit
that I am being drawn closer to this argument.  How are we creating
"architecture" when we are outside the document space? 

Daniel R. Drop
Senior Software Engineer
Otis Elevator Company
5 Farm Springs
Farmington, CT 06032-2559

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