Professor UDA Norihiko, Faculty of Library, Information and Media Science

We now live in an environment saturated with information, so much so that it often feels as if anything can be found instantly with a simple search, yet despite this abundance, we continue to struggle to grasp others' perspectives, and misunderstandings or conflicts persist. Ideally, greater access to knowledge should lead to greater openness and flexibility in thought, but such outcomes are not automatic.
Our project seeks to establish a new form of knowledge informatics that deepens thought and fosters mutual understanding. It does so by creating meaningful, organic connections between knowledge recorded in books, digital resources, and the knowledge embedded in individuals and society.

We only see the world as it appears at our own level

Even when people share the same time, space, and context, the world they perceive is rarely identical. These differences arise from personal experiences, accumulated knowledge, and disciplinary backgrounds. Many conflicts and misunderstandings stem from these perceptual gaps. If we better recognized each other's expertise, history, and fields of knowledge, many of these issues could be mitigated. In short, our capacity for thought is bounded by what we can perceive, and the flexibility of our thinking depends on the breadth and depth of the knowledge we carry.

Knowledge itself exists on multiple levels--individual, societal, and collective humanity. Libraries, museums, and archives serve as repositories of vast bodies of memory and information, yet even with such resources, much knowledge remains undiscovered. Current search engines reveal only a fraction of what is available, and even then, search results often reflect our existing expectations and knowledge.

Knowledge informatics aims to bridge these divides, enabling more meaningful, interconnected access to knowledge held by individuals, society, and recorded memory systems.

New knowledge creation through the interaction of memory resources

Social constructionism teaches us that knowledge is continuously shaped and reshaped through interactions between individuals and society. From this perspective, the need for a new type of social memory system becomes clear.

To deepen understanding, it is essential to present not only primary sources but also related materials from diverse archives and physical objects. For example, in exploring knowledge about sleep, presenting research articles alongside books and tangible objects such as pillows or mattresses can yield insights unattainable through academic literature alone. Much of the information around us remains underutilized. My research aims to build a social memory system that integrates artificial intelligence and reflects how humans cognitively process information.

Revitalizing the humanities with advanced search customization

Resources are the foundation of progress in the humanities, making libraries vital research partners. The traditional image of libraries has rapidly evolved through digital transformation, influencing humanities scholarship and contributing to the growth of digital humanities as a new academic field.

Humanities research often depends on unique materials collected by individual scholars, which can make researchers hesitant to share their resources. However, the open science movement is gaining momentum in the humanities. Digitizing and openly providing resources enables broader engagement, fostering interactions that revitalize the field.

Nonetheless, even with increased openness, current search systems remain insufficient for the highly specialized needs of humanities researchers. Our work investigates how individual scholars search for materials and aims to develop a personalized search system tailored to each researcher's patterns and preferences. Unlike science-oriented approaches that seek widely generalizable results, this model supports deep, individual exploration.

Overcoming existing barriers through knowledge

Customization also plays a role in bookshelf studies. A person's personal library, its contents, and the way books are arranged, reflect that individual's perspective on information. In this sense, the bookshelf becomes a visual and spatial expression of personal knowledge.

Libraries and bookstores often employ creative and thoughtful display techniques that stimulate inquiry and prompt unexpected intellectual encounters. Digital technologies can further enhance such serendipitous discoveries.

From birth to death, humans exist within a continuous flow of knowledge transmission and sharing. Historically, people have always lived alongside books, engaging with knowledge across generations. Today's personalized knowledge delivery systems represent an evolved continuation of this tradition. If we consider the transmission and sharing of knowledge as a kind of phenomenon akin to a natural process, it may even become possible to simulate societal changes based on knowledge flows, allowing us to explore possibilities beyond current experience.

Profile

Professor in the Faculty of Library, Information and Media Science, University of Tsukuba. Researcher at the Research and Development Office, University of Tsukuba Library. Chair of the Master's Program in Informatics since 2022. Participant in the MDA Advanced Information Specialist Education Program. From 2005 to 2019, involved in designing and implementing the TULIPS electronic library system at the University of Tsukuba Library. Served as Academic Research Officer at the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology from 2010 to 2013. Has held positions as visiting professor, researcher, or committee member at several institutions, including the National Institute of Information, the National Diet Library, the National Museum of Japanese History, the National Institute of Japanese Literature, and the National Museum of Ethnology.

（URL:https://www.tulips.tsukuba.ac.jp/lib/en/about/character)

Article by Science Communicator at the Bureau of Public Relations

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