| Like the lament of Coleridge’s ancient mariner who finds himself adrift at sea surrounded by water yet dying of thirst, many organizations find they are surrounded by data, yet much of it does not truly satisfy their information needs. Today we have at our disposal vast stores of information that come in a variety of forms: records, instructions, designs, blueprints, maps, images, sounds, metadata, detailed data, and summarized data, to name just a few. This information may be stored in places ranging from file cabinets to databases and from library shelves to the Internet. Today’s organizations have achieved quantity of data and information, but not necessarily quality of either, meaning that the data or information lacks one or more vital characteristics necessary for it to be fit for use. Problems with the quality of data and information are further compounded by the struggles many organizations are experiencing as they try to improve their systems for knowledge management and organizational memory. |