Keeping Found Things Found:
The Study and Practice of Personal Information Management
by William Jones
HD30.2 .J664 2008
New Book Island, 2nd floor
Think about the stuff that you take with you when you leave your house. For me, it’s my keys, laptop, cell phone and iPod. You keep those items with you at all times. What happens when you lose one of the essential things, like your cell phone? You’ve lost not only the phone itself, but the stored information, such as phone numbers and the crazy pictures from the previous weekend. You can replace the physical device, but the intangible information may be gone forever. This week’s featured book centers around keeping all of your ‘intangibles’ in one known place.
Jones, research associate professor at the University of Washington, Seattle, delves into the subject of personal information management (PIM), which is just what it sounds like it is. It encompasses both the finding of information, as well the maintenance, reuse, distribution and a whole host of actions performed to (borrow from the title) and ‘keep found things found.’ The author divides the volume into sections: ‘Foundations’ covers the basics and background to the study of PIM; ‘Activities’ describes the various tasks of PIM; and ‘Solutions’ looks at technology and its role in PIM. The book also includes a list of references for future research on the topic. All in all, a very interesting read!
