University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Knowledge Management through the Lens of Library and Information Science: A Study of Job Advertisements

Harper, Ray

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/46048

Description

Title
Knowledge Management through the Lens of Library and Information Science: A Study of Job Advertisements
Author(s)
Harper, Ray
Issue Date
2013
Keyword(s)
  • Job advertisements
  • Knowledge management
Abstract
Knowledge management (KM) is influential as a concept and practice, referring to the capture, codification, and interpretation of knowledge. KM can be viewed as a form of library and information science (LIS) or a distinct professional area. Wider debates around the skills of newly qualified LIS workers, the LIS curriculum, and the current employment market have meant that KM roles present opportunities to LIS professionals. The reported study investigated similarities between KM and LIS jobs by examining 165 U.K.-based KM jobs in 2011. Job advertisements were coded using keywords derived from the Quality Assurance Agency’s Subject Benchmark Statement for LIS. Findings showed KM jobs required and prized the development of information architecture, Web 2.0 tools, databases, and other applications and emphasized the capture and dissemination of knowledge through brokerage. Advertisements showed the importance of “contextual” skills, including relationship management, strategic management, and compliance. Numerous areas in the LIS benchmark statement are shared with KM job roles, particularly facilitating access to information, structuring information, and providing an “expert advisor” service. LIS and KM have similar traits but not necessarily of the same type. LIS can be conceptualized as a profession with clearly defined boundaries, professional routes, and frameworks, while KM is more of a cross-cutting “practice” that embodies a range of professional skills, including, but not limited to, LIS.
Publisher
Johns Hopkins University Press and the Graduate School of Library and Information Science. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
ISSN
0024-2594
Type of Resource
text
Language
en
Permalink
http://hdl.handle.net/2142/46048
Copyright and License Information
Copyright 2013 Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois

Owning Collections

Library Trends 61 (3) Winter 2013: Research into Practice PRIMARY
Library Trends 61 (3) Winter 2013: Research into Practice. Edited by Sheila Corrall and Barbara Sen