Foundations for Information Organization †Free Samples to Students

Question: Discuss about the Foundations for Information Organization. Answer: Introduction: Organization systems are mechanisms used to systematically sort, classify and store information for easier retrieval. Information sources come in different collections, and we use them practically in almost daily basis of our lives. They range from important documents received and sent on our daily office routines to email documents and files stored in our personal computers for future retrieval and use. Therefore, my preferred personal collection is my important paper documents that I use for daily activities Paper documents collection has a broad outlook. The collection involves a wide variety of documents ranging from letters, Newspapers, Memos and Magazines among other documents. They are documents used daily, weekly or occasionally depending on when they are needed. Their organization is significant as it saves on time by making their access and retrieval much easier. Having information sources well stored according to their categories enhances their quality and usability when they are required. A collection of paper documents is an important part of most organizational formations, with categories such as the newspapers being daily distributed in public offices, internal and external memos sent within organizations, official and informal letters disseminated for communication purposes. However, it is important to note that, a paper documents collection is a form of knowledge organization system, which falls under the type of Classifications and Categories. It is a scheme type which provides a pattern of restricted rules to represent the phenomena in one big collection. A paper documents collection is therefore, an umbrella hosting a variety of paper items with different purposes and uses, but with same characteristics. They can be filled, manually stored and are they are all inform of hard copies. The Map Out of Paper Document Collection The table above outlines a paper documents collection organization scheme. And from the table, an item such as letter is divided into formal and informal categories, and memos are subdivided into external and internal memos. Magazines and newspapers are subdivided according to the periods in which they are printed, and pamphlets are categorized into the academic and general pamphlets used for general information. A paper documents collection is a useful asset when it comes to information management. Since information never expires, it is important to have it for future reference. In addition, different organizational situations require past information for references, and in this case, a careful storage of the documents is mandatory for future reference The organization of these documents is usually in form of files, stored according to the same characteristics. That is, paper documents such as letters are stored in one file, and same applies to memos, newspapers magazines and many more. My paper documents collection offers a wide range of usage, from being important source of knowledge to a good source of reference. The collection is characterized by a wide range of information items under it. It is an umbrella housing different information sources serving different functions. The scope of these documents under the collection ranges from stored and sent copies of formal letters, copies of received and sent internal memos, different copies of daily and weekly newspapers, copies of different monthly and yearly magazines and finally two sets of pamphlets; one for academic use and the other one for general information usage. However, my paper documents collection does not include confidential organizational paper records as they are only restricted to the specific individuals, and copies of my academic certificates and curriculum vitae, as they are kept differently in a special place because of their personal significance. The organization of the items in my personal collection follows a certain criteria based on the type of the item, significance of the items, the date and appropriateness. For instance, all past formal letter received are kept in a single file named, received, while all the copies of the sent letters are kept in another different document file named received. All the daily newspapers are kept in a Dailies newspaper document file while the Weekly newspapers are kept in a Weeklys file document. All the monthly and the yearly magazines are kept in Monthly and Yearly document files respectively and the finally the pamphlets are categorized into two, namely, General and Academic files. The categories in this case are exhaustive and effective; they are not too many but rather enough to cater for all the items. However, memos can still perfectly fit in the same category as letters but for clarity purposes, they have received and Sent files in which they are stored. In the organization of these items into different categories, different factors influenced my outcomes. Traditionally, it is known orderliness is key to success. In addition, common sense states that, classification of items into one group according to their characteristics makes identification process much easier. The organization was also influenced partly by the fact that historical evidence shows that, in classification, it is much acceptable to group items or phenomena according to their extremely similar characteristics into one. Furthermore, the most important aspects of my collection I considered were the type of the items, e.g. letters and newspapers, their immediate significance and importance, the dates of their production, that is arranged according to the dates in cases of newspapers and magazines, and finally according to reliability, that is, the degree of reliability when it comes for references. One most important part to note is that, this collection is not represented in shorthand or brief ways. Evaluation of the Paper Document Collection The paper documents collection is a stable organization system. Cases of breakdowns are almost impossible. The collection is characterized by tangible paper documents which mean altering of the already printed information in the paper is impossible, or any attempts to do so would easily be noticed. The only security concerns that can cause the breakdowns in this information organization are the theft and removal of certain important documents to conceal information. However, this system can be best improved, by enhancing ways of accessing information much faster, because it is quite hectic when it comes to retrieving information Paper documents collection organization system aspects such as the relevance of the items can cause major confusion, as the term relevance differs from one person to another. It therefore, means that sometimes arranging information based on your personal assumption of relevance may not conform to another person who may as well use the same system of organization. However, this may not be a possible problem to deal with as it is beyond basic solutions, therefore it is understandable as to why there may always exist differences in what every person deems significant, and that changes in this case are futile. The collection of paper documents uses a variety of techniques that can be equated to the term technology. With the items stored in systematic respective files, the filling system enhances a very orderly arrangement which makes it easier when it comes to the access of the information. Furthermore, the files within which the items are stored are subdivided according to date, that is, day, month and year which means, while retrieving the information, you know where to start from in terms of the age of materials being accessed from the organization system. The adoption of these technologies has added gloss on the organization scheme, with other enticing attributes attributed to it already; technology is just an added advantage in making the organization scheme much better. Technology has always played a better role in transforming and strengthening organization systems, and having technological adoptions that strengthens the system is required more for the progress of the organization system. The described organization system can be termed as a unique blend of invention and the existing methods of organization methods. The system does not follow any particular established information organization system; rather, there is combination of new techniques and the use of some of the established methods to form a stronger blend of organization system. It is deemed as a good move in trying to create a credible information organization system. The elaborated organization system is relatively new, and has not been in use somewhere else, but it is a promising method organization system that puts a lot of emphasis on security and easy access of the information on top of effective categorizing and classifying of the items. It is an intelligent organizing scheme that can be used to complement advanced technological organization schemes, hence its suitability in this modern technological era. References Cordella, A., Iannacci, F. (2011). Information Systems and Organisations . Undergraduate study in Economics, Management, Finance and the Social Sciences , 1-33. Glushko, J. R. (2010). Chapter 1. Foundations for Information Organization, Retrieval, and Use . 1-20. Taylor, G. A., Joudrey, N. D. (2008). The Organization Of Information . Library and Information Science Text Series .