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The Discipline of Organizing: Professional Edition, 3rd Edition

Name: The Discipline of Organizing: Professional Edition, 3rd Edition
Author: Robert J. Glushko
ISBN: 9781491938720

by Robert J. Glushko

August 2015

Intermediate to advanced

560 pages

30h 44m

English

O'Reilly Media, Inc.

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Foreword to the First Edition
Preface to the Second Edition
Preface to the Third Edition
Abstract
1. Foundations for Organizing Systems
1.1. The Discipline of Organizing
1.2. The “Organizing System” Concept
1.2.1. The Concept of “Resource”1.2.2. The Concept of “Collection”1.2.3. The Concept of “Intentional Arrangement”1.2.3.1. The Concept of “Organizing Principle”1.2.3.2. The Concept of “Agent”1.2.4. The Concept of “Interactions”
1.3. Design Decisions in Organizing Systems
1.3.1. Organizing Systems in a “Design Space”1.3.1.1. Conventional Ways to Classify Organizing Systems1.3.1.2. A Multifaceted or Multidimensional View1.3.2. What Is Being Organized?1.3.3. Why Is It Being Organized?1.3.4. How Much Is It Being Organized?1.3.5. When Is It Being Organized?1.3.6. How (or by Whom) Is It Organized?1.3.7. Where is it being Organized?
1.4. Organizing This Book
2. Activities in Organizing Systems
2.1. Introduction
2.2. Selecting Resources
2.2.1. Selecting {and, or, vs.} Organizing2.2.2. Selection Principles2.2.3. Selection of Digital and Web-based Resources

2.3. Organizing Resources
2.3.1. Organizing Physical Resources2.3.1.1. Organizing with Properties of Physical Resources2.3.1.2. Organizing with Descriptions of Physical Resources2.3.2. Organizing Places2.3.2.1. Organizing the Land2.3.2.2. Organizing Built Environments2.3.2.3. Orientation and Wayfinding Mechanisms2.3.3. Organizing Digital Resources2.3.3.1. Organizing Web-based Resources2.3.3.2. “Information Architecture” and Organizing Systems2.3.4. Organizing with Multiple Resource Properties
2.4. Designing Resource-based Interactions
2.4.1. Affordance and Capability2.4.2. Interaction and Value Creation2.4.2.1. Value Creation with Physical Resources2.4.2.2. Value Creation with Digital Resources2.4.2.3. Accessibility2.4.3. Access Policies
2.5. Maintaining Resources
2.5.1. Motivations for Maintaining Resources2.5.2. Preservation2.5.2.1. Digitization and Preserving Resources2.5.2.2. Preserving the Web2.5.2.3. Preserving Resource Instances2.5.2.4. Preserving Resource Types2.5.2.5. Preserving Resource Collections2.5.3. Curation2.5.3.1. Institutional Curation2.5.3.2. Individual Curation2.5.3.3. Social and Web Curation2.5.3.4. Computational Curation2.5.3.5. Discarding, Removing, and Not Keeping2.5.4. Governance2.5.4.1. Governance in Business Organizing Systems2.5.4.2. Governance in Scientific Organizing Systems
2.6. Key Points in Chapter Two
3. Resources in Organizing Systems
3.1. Introduction3.1.1. What Is a Resource?3.1.1.1. Resources with Parts3.1.1.2. Bibliographic Resources, Information Components, and “Smart Things” as Resources3.1.2. Identity, Identifiers, and Names
3.2. Four Distinctions about Resources
3.2.1. Resource Domain3.2.2. Resource Format3.2.3. Resource Agency3.2.3.1. Passive or Operand Resources3.2.3.2. Active or Operant Resources3.2.4. Resource Focus3.2.5. Resource Format x Focus3.2.5.1. Physical Description of a Primary Physical Resource3.2.5.2. Digital Description of a Primary Physical Resource3.2.5.3. Digital Description of a Primary Digital Resource3.2.5.4. Physical Description of a Primary Digital Resource
3.3. Resource Identity
3.3.1. Identity and Physical Resources3.3.2. Identity and Bibliographic Resources3.3.3. Identity and Information Components3.3.4. Identity and Active Resources
3.4. Naming Resources
3.4.1. What’s in a Name?3.4.2. The Problems of Naming3.4.2.1. The Vocabulary Problem3.4.2.2. Homonymy, Polysemy, and False Cognates3.4.2.3. Names with Undesirable Associations3.4.2.4. Names that Assume Impermanent Attributes3.4.2.5. The Semantic Gap3.4.3. Choosing Good Names and Identifiers3.4.3.1. Make Names Informative3.4.3.2. Use Controlled Vocabularies3.4.3.3. Allow Aliasing3.4.3.4. Make Identifiers Unique or Qualified3.4.3.5. Distinguish Identifying and Resolving
3.5. Resources over Time
3.5.1. Persistence3.5.1.1. Persistent Identifiers3.5.1.2. Persistent Resources3.5.2. Effectivity3.5.3. Authenticity3.5.4. Provenance
3.6. Key Points in Chapter Three
4. Resource Description and Metadata
4.1. Introduction
4.2. An Overview of Resource Description
4.2.1. Naming {and, or, vs.} Describing4.2.2. “Description” as an Inclusive Term4.2.2.1. Bibliographic Descriptions4.2.2.2. Metadata4.2.2.3. Tagging of Web-based Resources4.2.2.4. Resource Description Framework (RDF)4.2.2.5. Aggregated Information Objects4.2.3. Frameworks for Resource Description
4.3. The Process of Describing Resources
4.3.1. Determining the Scope and Focus4.3.1.1. Describing Instances or Describing Collections4.3.1.2. Abstraction in Resource Description4.3.1.3. Scope, Scale, and Resource Description4.3.2. Determining the Purposes4.3.2.1. Resource Description to Support Selection4.3.2.2. Resource Description to Support Organizing4.3.2.3. Resource Description to Support Interactions4.3.2.4. Resource Description to Support Maintenance4.3.3. Identifying Properties4.3.3.1. Intrinsic Static Properties4.3.3.2. Extrinsic Static Properties4.3.3.3. Intrinsic Dynamic Properties4.3.3.4. Extrinsic Dynamic Properties4.3.4. Designing the Description Vocabulary4.3.4.1. Principles of Good Description4.3.4.2. Who Uses the Descriptions?4.3.4.3. Controlled Vocabularies and Content Rules4.3.4.4. Vocabulary Control as Dimensionality Reduction4.3.5. Designing the Description Form4.3.6. Creating Resource Descriptions4.3.6.1. Resource Description by Professionals4.3.6.2. Resource Description by Authors or Creators4.3.6.3. Resource Description by Users4.3.6.4. Computational and Automated Resource Description4.3.7. Evaluating Resource Descriptions4.3.7.1. Evaluating the Creation of Resource Descriptions4.3.7.2. Evaluating the Use of Resource Descriptions4.3.7.3. The Importance of Iterative Evaluation
4.4. Describing Non-text Resources
4.4.1. Describing Museum and Artistic Resources4.4.2. Describing Images4.4.3. Describing Music4.4.4. Describing Video4.4.5. Describing Resource Context
4.5. Key Points in Chapter Four
5. Describing Relationships and Structures
5.1. Introduction
5.2. Describing Relationships: An Overview
5.3. The Semantic Perspective
5.3.1. Types of Semantic Relationships5.3.1.1. Inclusion5.3.1.2. Attribution5.3.1.3. Possession5.3.2. Properties of Semantic Relationships5.3.2.1. Symmetry5.3.2.2. Transitivity5.3.2.3. Equivalence5.3.2.4. Inverse5.3.3. Ontologies
5.4. The Lexical Perspective
5.4.1. Relationships among Word Meanings5.4.1.1. Hyponymy and Hyperonymy5.4.1.2. Metonymy5.4.1.3. Synonymy5.4.1.4. Polysemy5.4.1.5. Antonymy5.4.2. Thesauri5.4.3. Relationships among Word Forms5.4.3.1. Derivational Morphology5.4.3.2. Inflectional Morphology
5.5. The Structural Perspective
5.5.1. Intentional, Implicit, and Explicit Structure5.5.2. Structural Relationships within a Resource5.5.3. Structural Relationships between Resources5.5.3.1. Hypertext Links5.5.3.2. Analyzing Link Structures5.5.3.3. Bibliometrics, Shepardizing, and Social Network Analysis
5.6. The Architectural Perspective
5.6.1. Degree5.6.2. Cardinality5.6.3. Directionality
5.7. The Implementation Perspective
5.7.1. Choice of Implementation5.7.2. Syntax and Grammar5.7.3. Requirements for Implementation Syntax
5.8. Relationships in Organizing Systems
5.8.1. The Semantic Web and Linked Data5.8.2. Bibliographic Organizing Systems5.8.2.1. Tillett’s Taxonomy5.8.2.2. Resource Description and Access (RDA)5.8.2.3. RDA and the Semantic Web5.8.3. Integration and Interoperability
5.9. Key Points in Chapter Five
6. Categorization: Describing Resource Classes and Types
6.1. Introduction
6.2. The What and Why of Categories
6.2.1. Cultural Categories6.2.2. Individual Categories6.2.3. Institutional Categories6.2.4. A “Categorization Continuum”
6.3. Principles for Creating Categories
6.3.1. Enumeration6.3.2. Single Properties6.3.3. Multiple Properties6.3.3.1. Multi-Level or Hierarchical Categories6.3.3.2. Different Properties for Subsets of Resources6.3.3.3. Necessary and Sufficient Properties6.3.4. The Limits of Property-Based Categorization6.3.5. Family Resemblance6.3.6. Similarity6.3.7. Theory-Based Categories6.3.8. Goal-Derived Categories
6.4. Category Design Issues and Implications
6.4.1. Category Abstraction and Granularity6.4.2. Basic or Natural Categories6.4.3. The Recall / Precision Tradeoff6.4.4. Category Audience and Purpose
6.5. Implementing Categories
6.5.1. Implementing Classical Categories6.5.2. Implementing Categories That Do Not Conform to the Classical Theory
6.6. Key Points in Chapter Six
7. Classification: Assigning Resources to Categories
7.1. Introduction7.1.1. Classification vs. Categorization7.1.2. Classification vs. Tagging7.1.3. Classification vs. Physical Arrangement7.1.4. Classification Schemes7.1.5. Classification and Standardization7.1.5.1. Institutional Taxonomies7.1.5.2. Institutional Semantics7.1.5.3. Specifications vs. Standards7.1.5.4. Mandated Classifications
7.2. Understanding Classification
7.2.1. Classification Is Purposeful7.2.1.1. Classifications Are Reference Models7.2.1.2. Classifications Support Interactions7.2.2. Classification Is Principled7.2.2.1. Principles Embodied in the Classification Scheme7.2.2.2. Principles for Assigning Resources to Categories7.2.2.3. Principles for Maintaining the Classification over Time7.2.3. Classification Is Biased
7.3. Bibliographic Classification
7.3.1. The Dewey Decimal Classification7.3.2. The Library of Congress Classification7.3.3. The BISAC Classification
7.4. Faceted Classification
7.4.1. Foundations for Faceted Classification7.4.2. Faceted Classification in Description7.4.3. A Classification for Facets7.4.4. Designing a Faceted Classification System7.4.4.1. Design Process for Faceted Classification7.4.4.2. Design Principles and Pragmatics
7.5. Classification by Activity Structure
7.6. Computational Classification
7.7. Key Points in Chapter Seven
8. The Forms of Resource Descriptions
8.1. Introduction
8.2. Structuring Descriptions
8.2.1. Kinds of Structures8.2.1.1. Blobs8.2.1.2. Sets8.2.1.3. Lists8.2.1.4. Dictionaries8.2.1.5. Trees8.2.1.6. Graphs8.2.2. Comparing Metamodels: JSON, XML and RDF8.2.2.1. JSON8.2.2.2. XML Information Set8.2.2.3. RDF8.2.2.4. Choosing Your Constraints8.2.3. Modeling within Constraints8.2.3.1. Specifying Vocabularies and Schemas8.2.3.2. Controlling Values
8.3. Writing Descriptions
8.3.1. Notations8.3.2. Writing Systems8.3.3. Syntax
8.4. Worlds of Description
8.4.1. The Document Processing World8.4.2. The Web World8.4.3. The Semantic Web World
8.5. Key Points in Chapter Eight
9. Interactions with Resources
9.1. Introduction
9.2. Determining Interactions
9.2.1. User Requirements9.2.2. Socio-Political and Organizational Constraints
9.3. Reorganizing Resources for Interactions
9.3.1. Identifying and Describing Resources for Interactions9.3.2. Transforming Resources for Interactions9.3.2.1. Transforming Resources from Multiple or Legacy Organizing Systems9.3.2.2. Modes of Transformation9.3.2.3. Granularity and Abstraction9.3.2.4. Accuracy of Transformations
9.4. Implementing Interactions
9.4.1. Interactions Based on Instance Properties9.4.1.1. Boolean Retrieval9.4.1.2. Tag / Annotate9.4.2. Interactions Based on Collection Properties9.4.2.1. Ranked Retrieval with Vector Space or Probabilistic Models9.4.2.2. Synonym Expansion with Latent Semantic Indexing9.4.2.3. Structure-Based Retrieval9.4.2.4. Clustering / Classification9.4.3. Interactions Based on Derived Properties9.4.3.1. Popularity-Based Retrieval9.4.3.2. Citation-Based Retrieval9.4.3.3. Translation9.4.4. Interactions Based on Combining Resources9.4.4.1. Mash-Ups9.4.4.2. Linked Data Retrieval and Resource Discovery
9.5. Evaluating Interactions
9.5.1. Efficiency9.5.2. Effectiveness9.5.2.1. Relevance9.5.2.2. The Recall / Precision Tradeoff9.5.3. Satisfaction
9.6. Key Points in Chapter Nine
10. The Organizing System Roadmap
10.1. Introduction
10.2. The Organizing System Lifecycle
10.3. Defining and Scoping the Organizing System Domain
10.3.1. Scope and Scale of the Collection10.3.2. Number and Nature of Users10.3.3. Expected Lifetime10.3.4. Physical or Technological Environment10.3.5. Relationship to Other Organizing Systems
10.4. Identifying Requirements for an Organizing System
10.4.1. Requirements for Interactions10.4.2. About the Nature and Extent of Resource Description10.4.3. About Intentional Arrangement10.4.4. Dealing with Conflicting Requirements
10.5. Designing and Implementing an Organizing System
10.5.1. Choosing Scope- and Scale-Appropriate Technology10.5.2. Architectural Thinking10.5.3. Distinguishing Access from Control10.5.4. Standardization and Legacy Considerations
10.6. Operating and Maintaining an Organizing System
10.6.1. Resource Perspective10.6.2. Properties, Principles and Technology Perspective
10.7. Key Points in Chapter Ten
11. Case Studies
11.1. A Multi-generational Photo Collection
11.2. Knowledge Management for a Small Consulting Firm
11.3. Smarter Farming in Japan
11.4. Single-Source Textbook Publishing
11.5. Organizing a Kitchen
11.6. Earth Orbiting Satellites
11.7. CalBug and its Search Interface Redesign
11.8. Weekly Newspaper
11.9. The CODIS DNA Database
11.10. Ikea
11.11. The Antikythera Mechanism
11.12. My Vegetable Garden
11.13. IP Addressing in the Global Internet
11.14. The Art Genome Project
11.15. Making a Documentary Film
11.16. The Dabbawalas of Mumbai
11.17. Managing Information About Data Center Resources
11.18. Neuroscience Lab
11.19. A Nonprofit Book Publisher
11.20. Your Own Case Study Goes Here
Acknowledgments
Bibliography
Glossary
Index

Content preview from The Discipline of Organizing: Professional Edition, 3rd Edition

11.19. A Nonprofit Book Publisher

By Emily Paul, December 2014.

Overview. The New Press, a nonprofit book publisher with approximately 1,000 published titles, roughly 800 of which are actively in print and featured on the website, updated its book categories for use on thenewpress.com as part of a website redesign. Rather than fully adhering to an established book classification system, such as BISAC, which is commonly used in book retail, The New Press developed its own classification system. In addition to the standard goal of allowing readers to browse categories, this classification system is designed to represent the press’s focus and mission. The New Press classification system employs a mix of principles and levels of granularity while incorporating some elements of the institutional categories from BISAC.

In order to gain some insight into how these dual goals affect usability, I ran user tests on a mockup of the website with the proposed categories. I conducted a think-aloud exercise in which the users verbalized their thoughts as they browsed through the categories and subcategories. I then asked the users to walk through where they would go for a particular book in response to a prompt from me that included the book’s title, subtitle, and a brief description. Lastly, I asked the users about what their impressions were of The New Press after looking at the categories, whether they were confused by the categories, and which categories they would be interested in looking at ...

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by Robert J. Glushko

11.19. A Nonprofit Book Publisher

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