Knowledge Management and the Information Specialist: dancing in step or missing a

beat?Hettie Groenewald

Erica van der Westhuizen

Johann van Wyk

Academic Information Service

University of Pretoria

2nd SLOSAL Conference, Midrand, 11 June 2002

Definition of Knowledge Management

• Utilisation and exploitation of knowledge assets

• Including all its info and its human experience and expertise

• Ensure sustainability and competitive advantage

Definition (cont)

• Utilises its culture, processes and infrastructure to– Create, identify, capture, share, use & re-

use knowledge– Adding optimal value to client’s knowledge

base

Types of Knowledge

• Explicit (documented, recorded)

• Tacit (expertise and experiences in person’s mind)

Communities of Practice

• A COP is a network of people emerging spontaneously

• Held together by informal relationships

• Sharing common knowledge, expertise and tools

• Learning from one another

Life Cycle of a CoP

COP lifecycle

1. PotentialDefinition

Role of Information Specialist

COP lifecycle( cont)

2. Formation• Definition• Role of Information Specialist

COP lifecycle(cont)

3. Commitment• Definition

• Role of Information Specialist

COP lifecycle(cont)

4. Active• Definition

• Role of Information Specialist

COP lifecycle (cont)

5. Adaptive – disengaging• Definition

• Role of Information Specialist

Knowledge chart

Flow of Knowledge

• Retrieval/collection (finding)

• Organising/indexing

• Creating Info/Knowledge products

• Communicating/distributing

Web portal

• Search engines

• Directories

• News

• E-mail

• Chat rooms

Objectives of the Infoportal

• Support task performance

• Create personal virtual KN space

• Integrated access to resources

• Search web info

• Keep up to date

• Support KN networks/communication

Infoportal

• Finding information

Library catalogue

Databases

Internet

Home page

Learning to dance in step

• The challenge

• Ongoing process

• Meetings

• Effective communication

Infoportal

• Organising information

Microdatabase tool

Virtual workspace

• Communication

messages (e-mails)

documents

• Communities of Practice

Infoportal

• Support electronic publishing

Articles

Theses

Choreography of the Dance

• Case studies – Service Unit Vet Science

African Goats• Website

• Full text articles

• Proceedings full text

• Listserv

• List of experts

• Community of Practice

• Indigenous Knowledge

African Goats website

KM and Infoportal• Ostrich experts – lecturers and

researchers

Ostrich

• Virtual Group

Messages

Document storage

• Knowledge flow and sharing - COP

Ostrich – role of Information Specialist

• Identifying the need• Virtual group – COP• Placing content• Supporter• Facilitator• Indexer

Choreography of the danceCase studies - Engineering

Dancing a successful tangoDancing a successful tango

Client

InformationSpecialist

Knowledge Management Tango

• Interaction between Information Specialist and clients

• Subject indexing

• Capturing and storing

ArchUPArchUP

Architecture Microdatabase

• Background

• Access and control

• Microdatabases

• More needs

Virtual Group

Civil Engineering

Lecturers InformationSpecialist

Tacit knowledge

Explicit knowledge

Virtual Group

Civil Engineering virtual group

• Potential

• Formation

• Commitment

Water@UPWater @UP

Water @ UP virtual group

• Identify subject areas

• Mapping area

• Virtual group formed

• Commitment

Conclusion

• Are we dancing in step with Knowledge management ? ?

• Our role ? ?