Knowledge Management (KM) has undergone major changes since it first appeared some 10-15 years ago. Librarians perceived some similarities between KM and aspects of their work and recognized the attention that it was receiving at high levels. Annexing the terminology was seen as a potential new tool for aggrandizing their status, but have the wider implications been recognized and realized by teachers and researchers in librarian-ship and information studies ? Originally seen as a panacea for organizations in a post-industrial, post-Marxist society ('the means of production lies in the head of the workers'), it has since been the focus of major corporate efforts. Organizations had introduced a succession of management techniques that were dependent on the flow of information to sustain their operations (management information, usually internally generated) and its strategic direction (usually externally sourced information). Both private and public sector organizations became aware of the loss of the corporate memory through the departure of experienced staff, taking with them the experience and knowledge of previous activities, and of their increasing dependence on continuing access to that knowledge.
展开▼
