The Role of Knowledge Management in Libraries: Emerging Perspectives

                                                          Anil Kumar Jharotia
Abstract
Knowledge management (KM) is about enhancing the use of organizational knowledge through sound practices of information management and organizational learning. It has emerged as a new area in the field of Library & information science.
Knowledge management as used as a base line in this paper is ‘knowledge management is the identification and communication of explicit and tacit knowledge residing within processes, people, products and services.’ Knowledge management in libraries normally focuses on effective research and development of knowledge , creation of knowledge bases, exchange and sharing of knowledge between library staffs and its users, training of library staff, quick processing of knowledge and realizing of its sharing.
Keywords : Knowledge Management, Library Environment, Information Management, Tacit Knowledge, Explicit Knowledge
Introduction
Library is one of the most important indicators of the stage of evolution, the society is passing through. The changes brought in due to the ongoing social evolution could be technological or managerial, library is sure to reflect the development. Therefore, it is necessary to understand the nature of changes undergone by the society over the years to know where the library stands.
The rapid development of Information Communication Technology (ICT) has changed the Information Society into a Knowledge Society. Accordingly, keeping pace with the changes, the emphasis of libraries has been shifted from documents to information and then to knowledge. Knowledge Management (KM) in libraries does not mean to management of existing knowledge of the library, rather it refers to effective identification, acquisition, organization, and development, using, storing and sharing of both existing and new knowledge. The aim of such effort is to create an approach to transforming and sharing of tacit and explicit knowledge and to raise innovation capability by utilizing the wisdom of the people of an organization.
What is Knowledge?
Knowledge starts as data- raw facts and numbers – for examples, the market value an institution’s endowment. Information is data put into context – in the same example, the endowment per student at a particular institution. Information is readily captured in documents or in databases; even large amounts are fairly easy to retrieve with modern information technology systems.
Knowledge process are two types :
1. Explicit
2. Tacit

Explicit knowledge is :
ü Packaged
ü Easily codified
ü Communicable
ü Transferable
Tacit knowledge is:
ü Personal
ü Context-specific
ü Difficult to formalize
ü Difficult to communicate
ü More difficult to transfer
Origins of knowledge management
The term “Knowledge management” (KM) is used to describe everything from the application of new technology to the harnessing of the intellectual capital of an organization (Sallis and Jones).
The field of knowledge management is seen as an essential part of a much broader concept known as intellectual capital. Knowledge management is about the management of the intellectual capital, controlled by the company. However, too often the delineation between the two terms is unclear and seldom adequately addressed.
Although Knowledge Management concepts have been around for a long time, the terms “Knowledge Management” seems to have arisen in the mid-70s. Nicholas Henry (1974) uses “Knowledge Management” in a manner that resembles our current understanding of the expression.
Knowledge Management Definitions
Many people perceive knowledge in many forms. As such it is only logical that knowledge management has many definitions according to the field it is being used in.
Knowledge management systems that are presently available or implemented, are just large electronic libraries of best practices, and needs to be rebuilt on more accurate understanding of what knowledge is. The following definitions are quoted from the works of a few experts in this field:
According to De Jarnet – “knowledge management is a process of knowledge creation, which is followed by knowledge interpretation, knowledge dissemination and use, and knowledge retention and refinement.”
“Knowledge management is the process of critically managing knowledge to meet existing needs, to identify and exploit existing and acquired knowledge assets and to develop new opportunities. (Quintas et al.)
“Knowledge management in the activity which is concerned with strategy and tactics to manage human centered assets.” - by Brooking
“Knowledge management is the process through which organizations extract value from their intellectual assets.”- by Kaplan
Working definition of knowledge management (km)
KM is a process of creating, storing, sharing, applying and re-using organizational knowledge to enable an organization to achieve its goals and objectives. KM is extending the concept of "knowledge" beyond existing concepts like "memory", "storage", and "information". The term covers such areas as tacit knowledge (expertise), implicit knowledge, explicit knowledge and procedural knowledge.
Knowledge Management in Libraries
Libraries deal with the document, information and knowledge. Knowledge can be divided in to two categories, Tacit knowledge and Explicit knowledge. Tacit knowledge is the ‘know-how’ acquired by persons. It is usually intuitive and generally demonstrated in how an individual makes accomplishment in his work, even though this knowledge is not recorded anywhere. But one of the goals of the knowledge management is to make tacit knowledge more widely available. Explicit knowledge is systematically documented records in any kind of format, which guide the users to gain the knowledge, as the individuals need and to expand the knowledge base further.
Knowledge management is the management of processes that govern the creation, dissemination, and utilization of knowledge by merging technologies, organizational structures and people to create the most effective learning, problem solving, and decision-making in an organization and library.
Libraries, the institutions for knowledge management deal with both categories of knowledge, tacit knowledge for the library personnel and the explicit knowledge for the users. Knowledge management in libraries is about the acquisition, creation, packaging or application or reuse of knowledge.
Characteristics of Knowledge Management in Libraries
The role of knowledge management in libraries will become more and more important along with the development of knowledge economy. It is a new management mode, boasts the following superiority and characteristics incomparable with conventional management:
Human Resource Management is the Core of Knowledge Management in Libraries
The most important resource in the knowledge economy system is the talents who grasp knowledge. The talent competition has become the focus of market competition in the knowledge economy era. In the knowledge economy era, the libraries will attach importance to vocational training and lifelong education of library staffs to raise their scientific knowledge level and ability of acquiring and innovating knowledge. They also will and fully respect the human value, guide and bring into play wisdom potentialities of library staffs, take developing knowledge resources in the brains of library staffs as an important way for rising work efficiency. An all-round improvement of library staff's quality and positioning of the human value will become important objectives of knowledge management in libraries.
The Objective of Knowledge Management in Libraries is to Promote Knowledge Innovation
Knowledge innovation is the core of the knowledge economy society. As bases for collection, processing, storage and distribution of knowledge and information, libraries represent an indispensable link in the scientific system chain, an important link in the knowledge innovation. Secondly, libraries take part in scientific research process directly. The library work is a component of knowledge innovation. Thirdly, libraries must pay attention to diffusion and conversion of knowledge. They act as bridges for turning the results of knowledge innovation into realistic productive forces. Knowledge management in libraries is to promote relationship in and between libraries, between library and user, to strengthen knowledge internetworking and to quicken knowledge flow. In the knowledge economy era, libraries will carry out researches on development and application of information resources, construction of virtual libraries, protection of intellectual property rights in the electronic era etc., thus founding the base for knowledge innovation
Information Technology is a Tool for Knowledge Management in Libraries
Knowledge acquisition is the starting point of knowledge management in libraries. The application of information technologies enlarges the scope of knowledge acquisition, rises knowledge acquisition speed and reduces knowledge acquisition cost. It is impossible to accomplish such important tasks by using man's brains only in the modern society in which the knowledge changes with each passing day. It will be possible to link closely knowledge sources and knowledge workers by computer networks, thus constructing knowledge networks in libraries based on realization of single-point informatization
The knowledge acquired must be accumulated and converged into knowledge warehouses of libraries. The priority of information technologies in the field of knowledge storage not only finds expression in quantity, but also in retrieval, sorting and security of the knowledge. Information technology is also indispensable in the application and exchange of knowledge and other fields. It functions as a source and tool for knowledge innovation.
Contents of Knowledge Management in Libraries
As a completely new method of management, knowledge management in libraries leaves much to be desired in its theoretical system. In my opinion, knowledge management in libraries should include such respects as follows:
1. Knowledge Innovation Management
2. Knowledge Dissemination Management
3. Knowledge Application Management
4. Human Resources Management .


Conclusion
In the short, we can say that Knowledge Management (KM) as a fluid of framed experience, values contextual information and expert insight that provides framework for evaluating and incorporating new experiences and information. Knowledge management requires a holistic and multidisciplinary approach to management processes and an understanding of the dimensions of knowledge work. Knowledge management should be the evolution of good management practices sensibly and purposively applied. One of the aims of knowledge management in libraries is to promote the knowledge exchange among library staffs, strengthen innovation consciousness and abilities for learning, making the knowledge most efficiently applied to the library and rebuilding the library into a learning organization. The knowledge management programme should provide a sound foundation for knowledge evolution.
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This paper has been published in journal : * Anil Kumar Jharotia, “The Role of Knowledge Management in Libraries: Emerging Perspectives” Lingaya’s Journal of Professional Studies, Harayana Vol.3 No.1 July-Dec.2009  (ISSN 0975539X) pp.97-101