Dr. P.

M Naushad Ali
Professor
Dept. of Library and Information Science
Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh

Refresher Course Programme in LIS

MDSU Ajmer

02nd November 2017

Knowledge Management

Knowledge Management (KM) is a management

practice that uses an organizations intellectual
capital to enable the enterprise to achieve its
organizational mission.

KM is a response to the explosion in information

and the realization that knowledge is together
with quality, a key driver behind organizational
success.
Knowledge Management
KM = People + Process +
Technology
Source: https://caserails.com/

Source: www.journal.forces.gc.ca/
Source: http://www.impactinsurance.org/
Knowledge Management

KM is not only managing knowledge assets but also

managing the processes that act upon assets.

There are two types or concepts of knowledge :

1. Explicit knowledge and ;

2. Tacit/Implicit knowledge
Knowledge Management
Explicit knowledge is:

Objective and formal knowledge;

Tangible information;

Capable of being codified;

Consciously accessible;

Easily networked on databases and intranets

Easily collected, organized and transferred

Knowledge Management

Examples of Explicit knowledge;

Documents
Correspondence
Reports and Interviews
Diagrams
Database
Audio and Video
Webpage
Knowledge Management

Tacit knowledge is:

Socially constructed knowledge;
The folklore of the organization;
Stored inside people's heads;
The knowledge of the mastery of a skill;
A mix of values, insights, hunches, prejudices,
feelings, images, symbols and beliefs;
Difficult to codify and to store on databases and
intranets;
Often difficult to communicate and share;
A valuable and rich source of experience and learning
Context specific, personal and hard to formalize
Knowledge Management
According to Bennet and Bennet (2008), there are four
types of tacit knowledge

Embodied;

Intuitive;

Affective; and

Spiritual
Knowledge Management

Skills sets
Observation
Comments
Insights
Experience
Perspectives
Judgment
Wisdom
Attitude
Knowledge Management
Implicit knowledge
Implicit Knowledge is that which has not been made explicit and is
presumed to be possible.

Stored in memory but not in conscious awareness

It may be pulled up when triggered (associated).

Implicit knowledge is knowledge that the individual does not know
they have, but is self-discoverable!.

The distinction among tacit, implicit and explicit put forward by

Bennet and Bennet (2008) in the Continuum of awareness of
knowledge .
E-Publishing in Academia / Dr. Nushad Ali 11
WHY Knowledge Management ?

Knowledge management can help employees to

produce outputs that tap into their skills, talents,
thoughts and ideas.

Knowledge management also benefits internal

communication, they simultaneously learn from
each other to fulfill the needs of their clients.
Knowledge Management?

Knowledge management and the sharing of knowledge

can help universities with the improvement of the
quality of their service as well as the creation and
maintenance of a learning culture.
It may integrate the people of various fields in the
university in a single platform and they may linked
with one another.
With the help of Knowledge portal findings of
research studies conducted by various departments as
well as experiences and heuristic knowledge of faculty
members of the university may presented in an
organized and effective manner.
Knowledge Management

Knowledge management presents a major shift in

focus regarding the development and use of
knowledge and information in increasing the
effectiveness of any organisation.
Opportunity for LIS professionals to make themselves
relevant to their parent organisations in a much more
vital way than has generally been the case.
It also presents a major challenge to LIS professionals
to engage with issues that have not generally been
regarded as their task, either by themselves, or by
those for whom they work (Southon & Todd, 2001).
Knowledge Management in India

A number of organizations in India like Tata Steel Ltd,

Wipro Technologies Ltd, Infosys Technologies Ltd,
Bharti Cellular Ltd, Tata Consultancy Services etc. have
demonstrated how effective utilization of knowledge
resources can contribute towards improving
profitability.
Knowledge Management in Libraries
KM in non-profit organization can improve communication among
staff and between top management and can promote a culture of
sharing (Teng and Al-Hawamdeh, 2002).
In recent years, academic libraries have also taken KM seriously.
Librarians in some academic libraries are the leaders of KM
projects (Abell, & Oxbrow, 2001).
Shanhong suggests that KM injects new blood into the library
culture which results in a sharing and learning culture (Shanhong,
2000).
According to Mphidi & Snyman (2004), converting personal
knowledge into corporate knowledge for sharing purposes is the
ultimate application of knowledge management (Mphidi &
Snyman, 2004).
Knowledge Management in Libraries
White (2004) argues that in the 21st century, KM is
increasingly becoming a crucial tool in helping to provide a
dynamic and effective service to library users.
Most KM applications for reference services revolve around
creating knowledge repositories, improving access, and
enhancing the knowledge environment. Very few of these
projects focus on managing knowledge as an asset that can
add value or produce a return on investment (Gandhi,
2004).
According to the literature, therefore, KM initiatives in
libraries have a long way to go and have tremendous
potential for improvement (Gandhi, 2004). It is clear that
several steps must be undertaken for libraries to apply
knowledge management.
Proposal for University based KM System

Libraries
DOCUMENT CREATION
Work flow
File format Content creation

Metadata Standard
Manpower Convert to File format
digital format Word, PDF,
HTML, LaTEX
DISSEMINATION etc

Media
Software
System Requirements Metadata creation

ARCHIVING

Document Delivery /
Dissemination

Figure 1: KM Work Flow

Components of University based KM System

Institutional Repository

E-Learning Resources

Databases of Research Papers/Books/Abstracts etc.

Traditional Knowledge Database

Proposed Model
Scientific community
IR

Intranet
Libraries
BISSAT
IR
Repositories
IR
IR
Media Remote Access
Reposi
tory
P2 communications

Web 2.0
TKDL

KM Model
Challenges/barriers to KM in academic libraries

Changing Trends in accessing Information

(Cultural challenge)

Managing central knowledge repositories;

Digitization of library resources;

Challenges/barriers to KM in academic libraries

Managerial Skills
Team Management
Leadership

Positive Attitude
Team Building..

Good Management is the art of making problems so

interesting and their solutions so constructive that
every one wants to get to work and deal with them
Paul Hawken

Confusion about defining true goal

Hidden Agendas
Interpersonal resentment
Disagreement over procedure
Proactive Leadership

Benchmarking your library for services and

function

Developing a team of professionals and Customers

Changing the environment

Implementing a plan for an integrated Library

system

Marketing to outsiders (Infopreneur)

Positive attitude

Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference

Career Success
Productivity
Leadership
Motivation
Interpersonal relations
Stress Management
Challenges/barriers to KM in academic libraries

Reluctance of library practitioners;

lack of clearly defined guidelines on KM implementation;

Lack of collaboration

Inadequate staff training;

Insufficient tools and technologies;

Lack of sufficient budget / funds;

Challenges/barriers to KM in academic libraries

Misunderstanding of KM concepts;

Lack of a centralized policy for KM;

lack of knowledge sharing culture;

Conclusion..
To implement an efficient KM system,
organizations must identify their main problems,
priorities, and strategy, and then select appropriate
tools.

Knowledge management relies heavily on

technology, but it is important to realize that
technology alone will never be the solution to
knowledge management.
Conclusion

There are socio-cultural and organizational

components that need to be addressed in a KM
system implementation to assure its acceptance
and success.
References
Wei Choo, C. (2000). Working with knowledge: how information
professionals help organisations manage what they know. Library
management, 21(8), 395-403.

Bennet, D., & Bennet, A. (2008). Engaging tacit knowledge in

support of organizational learning. Vine, 38(1), 72-94.
Technology wont
replace Librarians

but Librarians who use

technology probably
replace Librarians who
do not.
naushadali.ls@amu.ac.in
http://www.itsubjectgateway.info|http://www.lislearning.in