This document discusses information architecture at Elsevier Labs. It defines information architecture and outlines its four main tasks: creating content and semantic organization systems, navigation systems, and interaction designs. Examples of information architecture at Elsevier include taxonomies, identifiers like DOIs and ORCID, and digital archives. Information architecture is concluded to play a central yet sometimes unseen role in Elsevier's products and the scholarly ecosystem overall.

1. MANAGING SCHOLARLY
INFORMATION AT ELSEVIER
Paul Groth (@pgroth)
Disruptive Technology Director
Elsevier Labs (@elsevierlabs)
September 2015

2. OR…. THE ROLE OF
INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE
Paul Groth (@pgroth)
Disruptive Technology Director
Elsevier Labs (@elsevierlabs)
September 2015

3. ELSEVIER LABS - INTRO
LABS MISSION
Our mission is to measurably improve the way
knowledge is conveyed and used.
We research and create new technologies for that
mission, help implement proofs of concept, educate
our staff and management, and represent the company
in technical discussions.

4. ELSEVIER LABS - INTRO
ELSEVIER LABS
• 8 Team Members
• labs.elsevier.com/team/
• US & Europe
• Connects to technology development & deployment throughout Elsevier
• Situated in a larger Architecture, Labs & User Centered Design Group
• Members have deep experience within Elsevier
• Research, rapid prototyping, technology evaluation & awareness
• Engaged in both academic and professional communities
• from EU projects to meetups

5. Applications

6. ELSEVIER LABS - INTRO
WORLD LEADER IN DIGITAL INFO SOLUTIONS
6
Published over
330,000 articles
in 2013
Founded over
130 years ago
Work with over
30 million
Scientists, students, health
& information professionals
Employ over
7,000 employees
in 24 countries
Received over
1 million submissions
in 2013
Over the last
50 years
the majority of Noble
Laureates have published
with Elsevier
Over 53 million
items indexed by
Scopus
Elsevier eBooks, Online
Journals, Databases
Publishes over
2,200 online
journals & over
10,000 e-books
SOLUTIONS
Elsevier
R+D Solutions
Elsevier
Clinical Solutions
Helps corporate
researchers, R+D
professionals, and
engineers improve how
they interact with, share,
and apply information to
solve problems using
our digital workflow
tools, analytics, and data
Provides universities,
governments, and
research institutions with
the resources and
insights to improve
institutional research
strategy, management,
and performance.
Elsevier
Education
Helps medical
professionals apply
trusted data and
sophisticated tools to
make better clinical
decisions, deliver better
care, and produce
better healthcare
outcomes.
Helps educate
highly-skilled,
effective healthcare
professionals, using
the most advanced
pedagogical tools
and reference
works.
Elsevier
Research Intelligence
CONTENT
CAPABILITIESPLATFORMS

9. Every 2 weeks the entire SciVal
dataset is updated
Combinations 34.4M Scopus
articles and their 400M citations
roughly 90,000B metric
combinations

14. COMMON THEMES
• Complex information domains
• Need to access both data and analytics
• Search and then browse
• The data must be organized
• Information Architecture is central

15. Information Architecture
Elsevier Examples

16. INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE DEFINITIONS
• The combination of organization, labeling, and navigation schemes within an information system.
• The structural design of an information space to facilitate task completion and intuitive access to
content.
• The art and science of structuring and classifying web sites and intranets to help people find and
manage information.
• An emerging discipline and community of practice focusing on bringing principles of design and
architecture to the digital landscape.
Dillon, A. and Turnbull, D. (2006) Information
Architecture, Encyclopedia of Library and Information
Science, Marcel-Dekker.

17. ‘THE PROCESS OF DESIGNING,
IMPLEMENTING, AND EVALUATING
INFORMATION SPACES THAT ARE HUMANLY
AND SOCIALLY ACCEPTABLE TO THEIR
INTENDED STAKEHOLDERS.”
Dillon, A. Information architecture in
JASIST? J. Am. Soc. Inf. Sci. Technol.
2002, 53 (10), 821– 823.

18. FOUR TASKS IN IA
1. Creating Content Organization Systems
2. Creating Semantic Organization Systems
3. Creating Navigation Systems
4. Creating Interaction Designs

19. CREATING CONTENT ORGANIZATION
SYSTEMS

20. LOTS OF SOURCES

25. CREATING SEMANTIC ORGANIZATION
SYSTEMS

26. ORGANIZING INFORMATION (TAXONOMIES)

30. CREATING NAVIGATION SYSTEMS

33. MOBILE REDESIGN

35. CREATING INTERACTION DESIGNS

41. Information Architecture
Within the Scholarly Ecosystem

42. SCHOLARLY INFRASTRUCTURE RELIES ON
STANDARDS AND COMMUNITY EFFORTS

43. DIGITAL OBJECT IDENTIFIERS

44. ORCID: IDENTIFIERS FOR PEOPLE

45. ARCHIVES

47. Information Architecture
A new product

50. CONCLUSION
• Information architecture plays a central role at Elsevier
• It plays central role in scholarship
• It is not apparent at first but fundamental to the value provided across applications
• Theory and practice of information science is useful in designing complex applications