Simmons College

Information Visualization

Pre-reqs: LIS 400 and LIS 488 Information visualization is the interdisciplinary study of the visual representation of large-scale collections of non-numerical information, such as library and bibliographic databases, networks of relations on the Internet, query and retrieval set relationships. Collections of digital objects -- text-based and digitized visual resources -- are part of a larger stream in information work of presenting large volumes of data in graphic forms from library, archive, museum and scientific work. Traditionally information visualization has been associated largely with information retrieval, data mining and information graphics with purposively design explanatory images, but as the volume of digital resources grows and visualizing techniques are simplified, library systems, digital libraries, and special-purpose information systems in both the sciences and humanities turn to visualization techniques to display, explain, and help users establish meaning from the retrieved data sets. This course complements Visual Communication (LIS 470), Photographic Archives and Visual Information (LIS 471) and similar visual resource-centric classes as well as born-digital-oriented materials, stored and processed. It may be studied on its own or be an application of what is learned in Data Interoperability and XML classes.