Are records miscellaneous?

• Author: Wilkins, Jesse
• Position: Book review

TITLE: Everything Is Miscellaneous: The Power of the New Digital Disorder

AUTHOR: David Weinberger

PUBLISHER: New York Times Books

PUBLICATION DATE: May, 2007

LENGTH: 278 pages

PRICE: $25

SOURCE: Available in most traditional online bookstores.

The solution to the overabundance of information is adding more information. Counterintutive? Yes, but David Weinberger makes a compelling case for exactly this approach--and it has major ramifications for how we manage electronic records moving forward.

Everything Is Miscellaneous: The Power of the New Digital Disorder is a good example of a particular genre of business book: very forward-looking, with a broad theme from just beyond the horizon and a liberal sprinkling of "marketingspeak." While it is most likely aimed at business managers and executives, it is also extraordinarily relevant to records and information management professionals although some of them might find it a bit uncomfortable to read.

Weinberger starts by introducing current approaches to categorization. He uses an office supply store as an example of the first order of classification--physical location--and signage and catalogs as an example of the second order--indexing of physical objects. He then asks the question that underlies the entire book: "Suppose that now ... we are able to arrange our concepts without the silent limitations of the physical. How might our ideas, organizations, and knowledge itself change?" It's an effective start to a powerful book.

The focus of the book is on digital information categorization and classification. The fundamental thesis is that we have always organized things based on the limitations imposed by physical storage (first order) and retrieval (second order) requirements--but that information is not subject to those limits. This, Weinberger argues, will bring about enormous changes in the way we classify and manage information, and some of those changes are already underway.

Everything is broken into chapters and at 233 pages plus end notes, it is a fairly easy read. He uses numerous examples to illustrate his points, ranging from iTunes to Wikipedia and from Amazon to del.icio.us, but each of the examples is presented with enough background and context to allow less Web 2.0-savvy users to readily grasp them.

Weinberger argues for four new strategic principles for managing digital information:

1. Filter on the way out, not on the way in. Instead of using gatekeepers to reduce the amount of...