MAGNITUDE AND ACTIVITIES OF KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT AND IT’S APPLICATION IN 21ST CENTURY LIBRARIES

Application of ICT in manifold directions not only altered the horizons of library services but also document management irrespective of the types which practically precipitated the term information management. It was further altered to a new and recent expression idiom known as knowledge management with the proliferation of information through web. Knowledge in true sense of the term is categorized into three types such as, Explicit Knowledge, Embedded Knowledge and Tacit Knowledge. Knowledge Management has become a new research area in comparison to other research areas such as data processing, information management, and network management. The innermost assignment of a library is to accumulate, systematize, preserve, and endow with access to knowledge and information. To arrive to this gigantic mission the libraries requires preserving valuable records of culture that can be passed down to succeeding generations. Libraries through out the ages have proved to be essential link in this communication among past, present, and future. Libraries ensure for preservation of recorded knowledge whether print or electronic for effective dissemination of knowledge when required. The paper discusses various activities involved in information management and knowledge management including its creation, impetus on library services and technological issues