READIT-2007 - Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research

Role of library and information professionals in the
knowledge environment
E.Soundararajan*, C.Jayakumar* and M.Somasekharan *
Abstract
Today we live in a knowledge society where the information is available to the users as they
require regardless of physical boundaries, formats, time etc. The revolutionary innovations of information
and communication technologies have changed the ways in which people think, communicate and share
knowledge. Libraries play a vital role in the knowledge dissemination process and management. In this
context, the library and information professionals have great challenges before them. Library professionals
started migrating to become knowledge professionals. The Internet technologies coupled with the
infrastructural advancements are helping the professionals in serving users better. This paper highlights
the new generation library, library users and the challenges before the library professionals.
Keywords: Knowledge Management, Information Management
1. INTRODUCTION
Libraries are facing the major transformational changes due to the advancements
of information and communication technologies. The technological changes has
challenged and made obsolete many current practices of providing library services. The
role of the library has always been to provide the best of possible services to all patrons,
possibly at all times. With competition from the World Wide Web, there is a sheer need
for the librarians to provide a ‘face-lift’ to their current outlook and services. In the
digital era, librarians, system persons, and record managers must be able to work with
digital media as easily as they have worked with paper. They must be able to curate
electronic collections, including the ability to select, acquire, describe, organize,
reference, and preserve these digital works.
2. KNOWLEDGE ENVIRONMENT
Knowledge environment facilitates the collaborative knowledge building,
decision making, and knowledge discovery depending upon the knowledge society.
Knowledge management is the process of transforming information and intellectual
assets into enduring value. It connects people with the knowledge that they need to take
action, when they need it. In the corporate sector, managing knowledge is considered key
to achieving breakthrough competitive advantage. The key to knowledge management is
capturing the knowledge. Two different types of information are necessary to accomplish
this: explicit and tacit. Explicit information is packaged, easily codified, transferable, and
communicable. Tacit information, on the other hand, is personal, context-specific,
difficult to formalize, and hard to communicate and transfer. Combining these two types
* Scientific Information Resource Division, Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research, Kalpakkam -
603102, Tamilnadu, Email: sound@igcar.gov.in
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