Personal information management is a research area with a focus on how people acquire, search, organise and use information for their daily pursuits in work and leisurely contexts. Much of the past research in information science, archival and museum studies has focused on institutional collections and organisational management of information and other assets. Only rather recently researchers have began to put more emphasis on explicating the specific characteristics of personal information management (PIM) and personal collections.
So far, the greater part of the research has been largely descriptive and focused on a relatively narrow understanding of information and its uses. The research project investigates the new contexts of personal information management with a specific aim of broadening the perspective PIM research to encompass non-traditional forms of information, factors and perspectives and contexts of managing and using personal information.
