Tools for visualizing information – such as search results in a catalog or database – are a hot topic these days. Char Booth, our E-Learning Librarian, recently commented on this trend and gave examples of visual interfaces. Among her conclusions:
The rising popularity of visualization affects how people engage with our stock and trade: information. When data becomes prettier to look at, not only does it become more comprehensible, it also becomes more interesting. Graphical representations capture attention and engage people with information in ways text often does not, and visualization tools lend themselves to any number of teaching and information communication scenarios.
Char also blogs regularly at infomational.com.