The Discipline of Organizing

Professional Edition

Robert J. Glushko

Jess Hemerly

Murray Maloney

Kimra McPherson

Robyn Perry

Vivien Petras

Ryan Shaw

Erik Wilde

Rachelle Annechino

Matt Earp

J.J.M. Ekaterin

Graham Freeman

Ryan Greenberg

Daniel Griffin

Carl Lagoze

Ian MacFarland

Michael Manoochehri

Sean Marimpietri

Matthew Mayernik

Karen Joy Nomorosa

Hyunwoo Park

Alberto Pepe

Jordan Shedlock

Isabelle Sperano

Daniel D. Turner

Longhao Wang

Daniel Brenners

Case Study Author 

Gracen Brilmyer

Case Study Author 

Jason Danker

Case Study Author 

David Eicke

Case Study Author 

Colin Gerber

Case Study Author 

Shaun Giudici

Case Study Author 

Emilie Hardman

Case Study Author 

Hassan Jannah

Case Study Author 

Sandra Lee

Case Study Author 

Carlo Liquido

Case Study Author 

Ian MacFarland

Case Study Author 

Andrew McConachie

Case Study Author 

Emily Paul

Case Study Author 

Pratibha Rathore

Case Study Author 

Becca Stanger

Case Study Author 

Suhaib Syed

Case Study Author 

Lisa Jervis

Bibliography Editor 

Shohei Narron

Bibliography Editor 

Anne Wootton

Bibliography Editor 

Jen Wang

Cover Designer 

Divya Anand

Illustrator 

Ajeeta Dhole

Robyn Perry

Christina Pham

Raymon Sutedjo-The

Nellie McKesson

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Adam Witwer

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Isabelle Sperano

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R. Alexander Milowski

Quiz Script 

Jacob Hartnell

Quiz Script 

Pablo Arvizu

Statistics Visualization 

Isabelle Sperano

Statistics Visualization 

Bob Stayton

DocBook Consultant 

Sagehill Enterprises

Jirka Kosek

DocBook Consultant 

Murray Maloney

Markup Editor 

Copyright © 2013-2016 Robert J. Glushko

Published by O’Reilly Media. Sebastopol, CA.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise—without the prior written consent of the publisher, excepting brief quotes in connection with reviews.

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Produced in the United States of America.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data. 

The Discipline of Organizing (4th ed.)/ edited by Robert J. Glushko.
 p. cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-1-491-97061-4 (retail ebook)

ISBN 978-1-491-97061-4 (retail PDF ebook)

1. Information organization. 
2. Information resources management. 
3. Metadata. 
I. Glushko, Robert J., editor of compilation.
Z666.5.D57 2013
025—dc23                

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0

2016-08-05

Revision History
	2013-04-20
1st Edition (2013)
	2013-09-20
2nd Printing (2014)
	2014-09-01
2nd Edition (2014)
	2015-08-10
3rd Edition (2015)
	2016-08-05
4th Edition (2015)

Abstract

We organize things, we organize information, we organize information about things, and we organize information about information. But even though “organizing” is a fundamental and ubiquitous challenge, when we compare these activities their contrasts are more apparent than their commonalities. We propose to unify many perspectives about organizing with the concept of an Organizing System, defined as an intentionally arranged collection of resources and the interactions they support. Every Organizing System involves a collection of resources, a choice of properties or principles used to describe and arrange resources, and ways of supporting interactions with resources. By comparing and contrasting how these activities take place in different contexts and domains, we can identify patterns of organizing. We can create a discipline of organizing in a disciplined way.

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