An interactive visual interface for organizing, locating, searching, and monitoring collections of digital information, designed to harness human spatial memory for organizing and retrieving digital information. In one example, an information map organizes digital information within a two-dimensional space with rapid visual feedback and information access. The organization may be algorithmically computed and user-modified. An interface that supports persistent state information whereby search nodes and document references are spatially fixed so that users may harness their spatial memory to organize and find information quickly.