Knowledge Management Applications in Libraries and Information Centers in a Digital Environment

Adoptions of Information Technology and more specifically the internet along with computer technologies in Libraries and Information Centers radically not only changed the horizons of library services but also in the field of document management which practically precipitated for generation of information management. Proliferation of ocean of information through World Wide Web, the term information management was changed to a new and recent expression known as knowledge management. Knowledge embodies three types of knowledge in its purview such as, Explicit Knowledge, Embedded Knowledge and Tacit Knowledge. Knowledge Management has become a new area of research comparing to other research areas such as data processing, information management, and network management etc. 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). Knowledge economy era transforms the library into a treasure-house of human knowledge, knowledge innovation and it acts as a valuable link in the knowledge innovation chain