Information Architecture: Ethnographic Fieldwork in Medical Archives

Based on field experience in medical archives analyzed through insights from ethnomethodology, this paper shows usually invisible aspects of information architecture, including activities and individuals that ensure its production and maintenance. Using the concept of document equipment, we offer a foray into the world of those who perform these daily operations and through their activities, produce an information architecture based on their specific skills. In particular, we discuss digitalization practices in the context of a global architecture.