Introduction and Overview
Who should attend?
Before you arrive at the First Meeting
Proceedings

The SGIA First Meeting is the first student-based community to support and advocate information architecture at the University of Hawaii.

The event will be held at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, March 25, 2001, at The John Young Museum, Krauss Hall, University of Hawaii at Manoa campus. Parking is FREE.

For parking and a map to the museum, click here...

First Meeting is really an informal gathering of students interested in the topic of information architecture. It affords you the opportunity to meet like-minded individuals and to engage in dialogue about IA or questions about it.

In the course of this dialogue, you will be able to meet students from diverse disciplines and to speak to them about their experiences surfing the Web–what she/he likes about it, their dislikes, how they wish they could make the overall experience better. This really is the first step in information architecture.

Whether you're from the computer science, library and information science, art, business, journalism, anthropology, linguistics, psychology, mathematics, engineering, or the public health department, all are invited to participate.

If you have experience or even an interest in building Web sites, including your own, and would like to explore where your specific skill sets fit into IA and the Web development process, then you should attend.

To familiarize yourself with the vocabulary, principles, practices, and visions of IA, go through the Toolbox section of this site. If possible, read through Lou Rosenfeld's Information Architecture for the World Wide Web (1998), for a brief and insightful introduction to the field. (Note: follow the link above to read a sample chapter online for FREE, compliments of O'Reilly & Associates)

The reading and online resources will hopefully provide a baseline for all attendees to engage in constructive, thought-provoking dialogue. It helps to all be on the same page.

Don't forget to bring your voluntary donation of fifty cents to The John Young Museum of Art at the University. If you haven't been to the Museum yet, you'll be in for a pleasant surprise. It's really something special.

The voluntary donation goes towards the maintenance of the fine exhibits and the beautiful lotus garden there.

Bring a pen or pencil. This will help you sign in once you arrive and receive a name tag. You might also want to use it for exchanging phone numbers or e-mail addresses with fellow students, as well as take some notes. Who knows?

The goal of First Meeting is just that. It's meant to be an extremely informal introduction to SGIA, the topic of information architecture, and to each other. And like most initial introductions, expect to bring a smile!

At about 1:30 p.m., there will be an introduction by Michael Whang, a graduate student in library and information science and the organizer of the SGIA. He will briefly go over his experiences with creating Web sites, and how his background in art and library and information science has helped him throughout the process.

He will also talk about what SGIA and you can do to move theory into practice. Currently, SGIA is writing proposals to various academic departments, querying them on possible Web projects that SGIA can participate in. If you know of a particular project or idea that deserves attention or have any suggestions or comments, please send us your feedback.

You can expect to spend at least 60-90 minutes at the museum. During this time, you can break from the group and take an intimate, guided tour of the museum with curator Benjamin Nerio.

SGIA looks forward to seeing you there.

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