SIGIA-L Mail Archives: Re: success of cartographic techniques,
Re: success of cartographic techniques, was: Re: SIGIA-L: site recommendations
From: Susan Zeyher (susan_z40_at_yahoo.com)
Date: Fri Aug 17 2001 - 10:14:06 EDT
Hi all,
Thank you, Peter, for your wonderful insights. It
will take me a while, but I will enjoy exploring the
resources you gave. I've always wondered whether
there was a way to connect my fascination with maps
with information systems like DDC (Dewey decimal
classification) and LCSH (Library of Congress subject
headings).
The map of the Munich subway was what triggered me to
think about connecting a visual representation with an
alphabetical list. The subway map doesn't try to
represent the actual physical landscape. It does give
you an easier way to visualize the pattern of subway
stops. It is certainly a much lighter cognitive load
than a table of stop locations and times.
>However, envisioning a familiar information space
>would no doubt lead to wildly divergent
constructions.
I wonder what kinds of maps people would envision for
DDC or LCSH. Does anyone know whether such maps have
been attempted?
I agree that maps, with their high density of
information, are not always easy to use. There is a
learning curve that is more difficult for some people
than for others. This is just like the idea/fact that
the library is only user-friendly for the trained
librarian. Is it not inevitable that any complex
system will require the user to go through a learning
curve in order to fully exploit the complexities of
the system? For me, this is the trap of the
supposedly intuitive user interface. I don't think we
can avoid the need to educate our users so they can
get the most out of what we design. My constant
diffuculty is with coming to a new Web page or
software program, or entering a building for the first
time, with my question in my hand, and finding nothing
to help me figure out "what do I do next?", "where do
I go first to learn about this new place?" I find
that Web sites are particularly frustrating because
they don't show where the beginning is. I expect the
usere education stuff to be at the beginning, but Web
sites don't have a beginning or an ending. What do
others think about this? What expectations do you
have of the user and how do you help them learn to use
what you have made?
Susan Zeyher
Working as a library cataloger.
Striving to make order out of information chaos.
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Make international calls for as low as $.04/minute with Yahoo! Messenger
http://phonecard.yahoo.com/
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.2
: Sun Nov 23 2003 - 22:54:47 EST
|
