10/13/2019 Information and knowledge management in libraries | Daily sun

Update : 2019-10-13 00:00:00

Information and knowledge management in libraries
Tahur Ahmed

Sir Francis Bacon said "Knowledge is Power". In this sense we can say, library is the storehouse of knowledge.
But managing the information and knowledge is very challenging job. Only librarian can play the key role for
managing information and knowledge in the library for creating knowledge based society. Librarians have to
posses many skills like information literacy, and database design and management which are required for
knowledge Managers. What librarians need within the context of information and knowledge management is high
degree of commercial awareness and a strong business orientation. It will be interesting to observe the growth and
implementation or otherwise of knowledge management over the next several years. Information after all
provides the raw material for knowledge. It will be interesting to watch its development in relation to
librarianship and information management. Meaning of key terms Data – Data is raw, scattered, unrelated facts,
numbers so symbols and each data has multiple meanings which are context dependent. Information –
Information is a data that has been organised and communicated. Information relates to description or
perspective. Knowledge – The word knowledge has several meanings; the simplest among them is – an assured
belief or that which is known. Knowledge is a set of organised statements of facts or ideas which present an
experimental result which is transmitted to others through some communication excuse in some systematic form,
the facts, feelings or experiences known by person or a group of people and erudition or informed learning. There
are two types of knowledge, one is explicit knowledge- this is documented, public, stretched and externalised and
the other is tacit knowledge which is personal, dynamically created and derived. Management – Broadly,
management is the art of guiding actions and controlling situations in a manner that yields results that best meet
the objective of an organisation or institution. Management responsibilities include planning, organising,
directing/motivating, controlling, making decisions, and solving problems. To fulfill their responsibilities,
managers need information about what is occurring internally and in the external environment. Data and
Information – Data can be numerically expressed, that is, quantified, quantifiable or objective. Data is highly
repetitive. Information is not highly repetitive or quantified or quantifiable. It is characterised as narrative and
subjective. Data then are number or unit facts, frequently repeated. Wherever, information is an idea. Information
https://www.daily-sun.com/home/printnews/430869 1/3
10/13/2019 Information and knowledge management in libraries | Daily sun

is a symbol or a set of symbols, which has the potential for meaning. In general terms, the processed data is
information. Information consists of data which have been retrieved, processed or otherwise used for informative,
inference purpose, argument or decision making. The process in which the data of a message are structured is
crucial to their effect as information. Information management – Information management (IM) is concerned with
the promotion of organisational effectiveness through the enhancement of the capabilities of the organisation in
coping with the demands of its internal and external environments in dynamic as well as stable conditions.
Information management is viewed as the planning, organising, directing and controlling of the information
within an open system. Information management is viewed as using computers, information systems, IT,
information auditing effectively and efficiently to manage information resources. IM is useful for internal and
external sources for meaningful dialogue and understanding to enhance proactive decision-making and problem
solving to achieve aims and objectives on a personal, organisational and strategic level of origination. Knowledge
Management – Knowledge management (KM) plays an important role in the modern world of organisation. KM
is the explicit and methodical management of emergent knowledge and its associated processes of creating,
gathering, organising, diffusion, use and exploitation of information. The spread of knowledge is a significant
consequence of the process of globalization. Shelda Debowski said "Knowledge management is a set of processes
that govern the generation, collection, distribution and use of variant forms of knowledge and is about enhancing
the overall gathering and use of it for human advancement." Some consider it as a refined label for information
management, but is much more than that. The management of knowledge requires technical, organisational and
interpersonal skills and everyone involved in the process, as managers in varying degrees, should have basic
competence in handling information and using information technology. Knowledge management in libraries
should be focused on effective research based work, development of knowledge, creation of knowledge bases,
exchange and sharing of knowledge between library personnel, training of library personnel, speeding up explicit
processing of the implicit knowledge and realising of its sharing. Libraries are knowledge centers – Libraries
have been the repositories of an intangible asset, the divergent forms of knowledge. The asset has been termed
diversely as facts, figure, data, information knowledge depending on the level on its processing. Probably the
libraries in the future will continue to be the major repositories of knowledge in a more diversified manner.
Libraries in the past were mainly focusing on the then onerous task of preservation of the fewer knowledge
materials available in the libraries. Libraries are now finding it difficult to carry out the twin duties of providing
worlds literature- not only in print form but also in other forms. With the advent of ITs and modern library
technologies, the environment where we work had been transforming itself into an information society. In this
situation, the role of the library as a keeper, manager and provider of information has become divergent. The
resourced abundance in print and digital forms poses challenges in the library scenario. Knowledge is essential to
succeed in any endeavour particularly in an information society that deals with abundant information materials n
diverse formats. Changing role of libraries – Libraries and information centers are intermediaries, between
information suppliers and information users. Library and information professionals have to play a key role.
Traditionally, library has managed the key academic resources of the institution. Now, librarians should be active
in using and managing latest library tools and technology for providing up to date services for users. So librarians
should assume the role to raise awareness about these issues among academics and institutional managers. The
libraries have to build into their future strategies: • Establishing a homepage having information about the
library and its services • Providing links to a collection of electronic resources, online databases/journals
and other Internet resources • Setting up institutional repositories • The concept of continual
change • Developing subject gateways and library portals • Providing information about events
like discussions, conferences and seminars • Giving information about job opportunities •
Electronic document delivery system • Library calendar, online reference service • Communicating
with user‘s via-e-mail, instant messages service • Providing Citation management service and article
request service • Introducing innovative technologies to improve services and facilities for the library
users Need for Information and knowledge management – Knowledge is as an asset and it is re-usable, as well as
capable of being used by more than one person at a time. The whole pool of knowledge, or knowledge base, is
greater than the sum of its parts. Knowledge and resources are growing and increasing, rather than shortening
overtime. Knowledge needs to be managed as it is so valuable. Knowledge needs to be managed so that the
library knows what it knows and also that it owns what it knows. This is particularly important for human-
centered assets. Overall, knowledge needs to be identified and managed because the alternative is too expensive.
Successful knowledge management can provide a number of potential benefits to the libraries, better decision
making, faster response time, improved productivity, cost reduction, sharing of best practice, improving library
services and better user attraction. Information and Knowledge Management in Libraries – The role of
information and knowledge management in libraries is becoming more and more important along with the
development of knowledge economy. Human resource management is the essence of knowledge management in
https://www.daily-sun.com/home/printnews/430869 2/3
10/13/2019 Information and knowledge management in libraries | Daily sun

libraries. The most important resource in the knowledge economy era, the libraries will attach importance to
vocational training and lifelong education of library personnel to raise their scientific knowledge level and ability
of acquiring and innovating knowledge. Information and Knowledge management encompass a wide range of
technologies in the libraries which include: • Web technologies- includes meditate tagging, intelligent
search, library e-marketing, content management, record management, archiving and backup. • Training
includes e-learning, distance training, multimedia and intelligent tutoring systems. • Systems- case
management, workload management and integrated performance support. • Communication-includes
document management, collaboration, groupware and directly creativity technologies. • Artificial
intelligence- includes expert systems machine learning, text generation and natural language. • Virtual
Reference Service- includes for instant messaging • Integrated Library System - includes for complete
library automation solution • Discovery Tool - includes for searching e-content • Remotely access
of library by using Remote Access Software • Using of Institutional Repository in the library •
Using of Citation Management Software • Using of Social Networking Tools in the library Information
and knowledge management in libraries provide proper information and knowledge to the library users by using
modern library tools and technologies and also play an important role for creating knowledge based society.
The writer is an Assistant Librarian, East West University

Print

https://www.daily-sun.com/home/printnews/430869 3/3