Data visualization is a subject in computer science that deals with the use of interactive, sensory (audiovisual) representations of abstract data to reinforce cognition, hypothesis building and reasoning. In their words, data visualization is the graphical presentation of information, with the goal of providing the viewer with a qualitative understanding of the information contents [1]. We know data is abstract, but can we reagrd piles of books as abstract too? In the sea of knowledge books are physical, yet without flipping book covers and browsing book pages, they could be seemed as an abstract database.
(pic found from here)
I know it's a weird thought. It just popped into my head when I was wandering in the municipal library (Openbare Bibliotheek Amsterdam) around my house. As phenomenal as the building looks, it has much more surprises inside for first-time visitors.
The strong design is more than aesthetics; it helps visualize our perceptions of book categories too. Books are no more reluctantly lying or almost dying in dark, damp corners, waiting to be discovered by readers who approach and murmur book serial numbers; instead, the bright design and clear information signs invite you to take an aggressive approach to get closer to the book shelves.
The visualization extends to knowledge searching online. Put a keyword and the mapping of knowledge will also appear on the search result page (at the left-bar)
If data visualization is to enlarge people's brain capacity to understand knowledge, then the visualization of the Open bare Bibliotheca undoubtedly increases my appetite for knowledge searching-- I'd like to spend my whole day there! :)
footnote: [1] Stefan Sonvilla-Weiss, (IN)VISIBLE: Learning to Act in the Metaverse. Austria:2008
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