2007-07-24

Knowledge Management in Libraries in the 21st Century

The knowledge economy is a new concept that has appeared worldwide in recent years. As a sub-discipline of the knowledge economy, knowledge management is a completely new concept and method of management. It works for converting intellectual assets of workers and staff members in the organization into higher productive forces - competition power and new value. Knowledge management requires linkage of information with information, information with activities and information with man - so as to realize the sharing of knowledge (including tacit and explicit knowledge).

The conventional functions of a library are to collect, process, disseminate, store and utilize document information to provide service for the society. In the knowledge economy era, the library will become a treasure-house of human knowledge, participate in knowledge innovation, and become an important link in the knowledge innovation chain. In the 21st century, the library will inevitably face the new subject of knowledge management.

More information: http://www.ifla.org/IV/ifla66/papers/057-110e.htm

An article by Tang Shanhong, Library of Chinese Defense Science and Technology Information Center (CDSTIC), Beijing, China