Information Scraps: How and Why Information Eludes Our Personal Information Management Tools

In this paper, the authors investigate information scraps - personal information where content has been scribbled on Post-it notes, scrawled on the corners of sheets of paper, stuck in the pockets, sent in e-mail messages to themselves, and stashed in miscellaneous digital text files. Information scraps encode information ranging from ideas and sketches to notes, reminders, shipment tracking numbers, driving directions, and even poetry. Although information scraps are ubiquitous, the authors have much still to learn about these loose forms of information practice.