Knowledge Management In The Academic Library : A Review of Theory and Practice

The purpose of this paper is to point out the possibility of a successful transformation of the traditional library organization within the home faculty into an organization that bases its business on knowledge management. The paper provides an overview of scientific and professional discussions on knowledge management from the beginnings in economic science to papers discussing knowledge management in library theory. In particular, the hermeneutics as method was used to analyze literature on knowledge management in academic libraries in theory and practice. Knowledge management in an academic library involves collecting knowledge, processing (coding), storing, sharing, applying acquired knowledge and creating new knowledge through interaction and synergy of library staff and faculty, users, library resources and environments. In this process, the role of the academic librarian changes from a simple intermediary between users and library resources to an active participant in the process of creating and sharing knowledge. The library becomes an intelligent organizational unit and organizes the existing knowledge, produces new knowledge and raises the level of information literacy of users. The library contributes to the creation of competitive advantage of the higher education institution of which it is part. It also contributes to the creation of a digital society. Future research should focus on the raising awareness of the role of knowledge managers in academic libraries and the usefulness of applying knowledge management in practice