1. How the Librarianship Roles have Changed with the Advent of KM Dr. Kimiz Dalkir March 17, 2004

2. Overview What is KM & why is it important today? How librarianship contributes to the 3 rd generation of KM Some New Roles & Responsibilities What’s next…

3. Overview What is KM & why is it important today? How librarianship contributes to the 3 rd generation of KM Some New Roles & Responsibilities What’s next…

4. Introduction When asked, most company executives say their greatest asset is knowledge held by their employees They also state they have no idea how to manage this knowledge

5. Interdisciplinary Nature of KM

7. What is Knowledge Management? KM is the systematic, explicit and deliberate building, renewal and application of knowledge to maximize an enterprise’s knowledge- related effectiveness and returns from knowledge assets (K. Wiig) KM is the process of capturing a company’s collective expertise wherever it resides: in databases, on paper, in people’s heads – and distributing it to wherever it can help produce the biggest payoff. (Hibbard) KM is getting the right knowledge to the right people at the right time so they can make the best decision (Petrash)

8. More KM Definitions It is the attempt to recognize what is essentially a human asset buried in the minds of individuals, and leverage it into an organizational asset that can be accessed and used by a broader set of individuals on whose decisions the firm depends. — Larry Prusak KM applies systematic approaches to find, understand and use knowledge to create value (O ’ Dell) KM is the explicit control and management of knowledge within an organization aimed at achieving the company ’ s objectives (van der Spek) KM is the formalization of and access to experience, knowledge, and expertise that create new capabilities, enable superior performance, encourage innovation and enhance customer value (Beckman)

9. KM Why is KM important today? More & Faster More Connected More Global More Mobile

10. The 3 Generations of KM* 1 st Generation: “if we only knew what we know” IT 2 nd Generation: “if we only knew who knows about.” PEOPLE 3 rd Generation: “if we could only organize our knowledge…” CONTENT *David Snowden, IBM Institute for KM

11. Overview What is KM & why is it important today? How librarianship contributes to the 3 rd generation of KM Some New Roles & Responsibilities What’s next…

12. KM Link to Information Professionals Knowledge Organization Traditionally, Library and Information Science has focused on the organization of explicit knowledge Books, documents This scope needs to be enlarged to include tacit knowledge – all intellectual assets at 3 levels: Individual Group (“community of practice”) Organization (corporate/organizational memory)

13. The 3 Pillars of KM 1.Knowledge is the foundation of all organizations 2.KM’s purpose is to increase the intelligence of the organization by building and leveraging knowledge 3.Knowledge must be embedded in all products and services of the organization Library and Information Professionals have a key role to play in all three!! - part of the KM system – not just info provider but facilitator & coordinator

14. Value of Knowledge Management Improved learning Individual Teams Organization Better decision-making and problem-solving Higher quality knowledge work, greater expertise More innovation and greater creativity Better able to stay ahead of the competition Improved knowledge embedded in products and services More effective networking and collaboration More ethical behaviour Special or corporate library as a strategic business asset to organizations

15. Overview What is KM & why is it important today? How librarianship contributes to the 3 rd generation of KM Some New Roles & Responsibilities What’s next…

16. Infomediary at 3 Levels 1. Organizational Memory Management 2. Community of Practice 3. Individuals Human filters Community Librarians Knowledge managers - - KSO (Knowledge Support Office) Knowledge Taxonomists, Archivists Knowledge Journalists, Editors To help control the information floodgates

17. KSO: Knowledge Support Office Roles of the information professional: Provide knowledge products and services that continually and consistently match the requirements of the organization Driven by organizational strategic goals Assist knowledge users in accessing and using the knowledge products and services Facilitate the sharing and transfer of knowledge Help users contribute knowledge for organizational learning and memory Typically through communities of practice

18. Community of Practice Roles Community maturity and productivity Value of content created Potential Coalescing MaturingStewardship Transformation Knowledge taxonomist Knowledge archivist Knowledge journalist

19. Community Librarian Often active community members who Scan for relevant content and resources Review and select material, write summaries, reviews, annotations Organize materials into community’s taxonomy Provide on-call research services Document meetings and other interactions Connect members with other experts in the field Elicit & transform tacit knowledge into explicit

20. Community Librarian Skills Library science applications Technical knowledge of the domain Web skills Familiar with online and physical resources relevant to the domain Interpersonal skills to consult with practitioners help connect people with shared or complementary interests Introduce new members into the community

21. Key Transformations in Librarianship due to KM Special librarians don’t necessarily manage the knowledge themselves They manage the knowledge environment Gathering, protecting, organizing and disseminating content Focus on: Where transformations occur Where learning occurs Value-added to turn information into knowledge  e.g. synthesis, validation, updating Helping ensure that knowledge is put to work People-oriented: Connecting people to people as well as people to content

22. Overview What is KM & why is it important today? How librarianship contributes to the 3 rd generation of KM Some New Roles & Responsibilities What’s next…

23. What’s next? KM Education: KM part of LIS curricula KM R&D: PhDs addressing KM topics KM Practice: KM skills included in LIS competencies and links with lifelong learning E.g. KM CoP project at McGill KM Workplace: KM job opportunities for MLIS graduates

24. What’s next? Analogy: statisticians are to data mining… as librarians are to: knowledge management

25. Discussion Some suggested readings: Henczel, S. (2004). Supporting the KM Environment: The Roles, Responsibilities and Rights of Information Professionals. Information Outlook, vol. 8, no. 1, pp. 14- 19. January 2004. Matarazzo, J. and Connolly, S. (1999). Knowledge and Special Libraries. Boston, MA: Butterworth-Heineman St. Clair, G. (2002) Beyond Degrees: Professional Learning for Knowledge Services. Munich: K.G. Saur. TFPL. (2000) KM Skills Map. London: TFPL.