What is it about?
The publication gives examples and a use case to demonstrate, how librarians especially in corporate libraries can help their organizations with securing internal knowledge, which is often gained by experience. The work provides an overview of different knowledge management solutions, their advantages and disadvantages as well as suggestions, how librarians can help to develop, implement and manage those solutions.
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Why is it important?
Corporate libraries are facing a lot of pressure especially in Germany, where book-sellers, specialized for a specific subject area, start to provide services (approval plans, standing orders, order and budget management as well as media processing and library management software solutions) which could lead to the outsourcing of whole corporate libraries. The work provides an example, how corporate librarians can contribute with their unique skills to a department with much higher internal value for the firms success in order to keep the library relevant for the firm beyond managing book acquisitions and database access.
Perspectives
The articles summarizes my experiences when my assistance as a corporate librarian during the evaluation of different knowledge management systems led to contributions to the overall knowledge management concept of my firm and finally to a self-developed knowledge management system. As a result, my corporate library expanded it's responsibility from the internal information management to the firm's knowledge management and became more relevant for the firm.
Benjamin Flämig
Universitat Luzern
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Know how to do better Know-how, BIBLIOTHEK Forschung und Praxis, March 2018, De Gruyter,
DOI: 10.1515/bfp-2018-0004.
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Resources
Knowledge Managers: Who They Are and What They Do
Knowledge management (the process) and knowledge managers (the people) are recent organizational phenomena. The latter (the knowledge managers) are those key individuals charged with the task of making the former (knowledge management) successful. Due to the recent emergence of these organizational initiatives, a study of knowledge managers - who they are and what they do - was thought to be instructive and revealing as well as being sufficiently current to enable organizations to either adopt or adapt their knowledge management strategy. A survey to reveal the characteristics of knowledge managers as well as knowledge management initiatives was designed and distributed to practicing knowledge managers, primarily from US and Canadian organizations. This chapter, based on the analysis of 41 completed questionnaires, reveals the backgrounds, goals, ambitions, initiatives and challenges as self-assessed by these individuals. By pulling this information together, a profile of a "typical" knowledge manager is presented. The question that remains to be asked is "Are these the most appropriate individuals to lead the KM charge"?
The Role of Libraries in Knowledge Management
The Role of Libraries in Knowledge Management
Are librarians the ultimate knowledge managers? A study of knowledge, skills, practice and mindset
This paper seeks to establish the state of knowledge of Knowledge Management (KM) among Library and Information Services (LIS) professionals, the extent to which they find positions in the KM sector, the extent to which they practise identifiable KM processes in their work and the adequacy of educational preparation and professional development opportunities. It draws on research begun in 2005, which included a survey of advertisements for KM positions, a survey of KM courses in Australia; and an online questionnaire for LIS and KM practitioners and educators. The literature review highlights knowledge, skills and attributes associated with KM, and notes some overlap with those required for the LIS profession. The job analysis suggests that there may be some overlap between LIS and KM practice and between what are perceived to be LIS and KM core competencies, but that the two are quite distinct. Findings from the survey of KM courses suggest only a limited amount of overlap between what are considered by the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) to be core LIS professional attributes and the curricula of the KM courses offered by Australian universities. The survey of practitioners did not reveal significant differences of perception between the LIS and KM groups, but noted that the two were not mutually exclusive. Significant comments from survey respondents are reported. Conclusions are mainly concerned with education and professional development, and are aimed primarily at educators and the professional association.
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