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Compiled by: Duncan Okoth
Knowledge management (KM) is a critical function within Library and Information Management, enabling professionals to capture, organize, and disseminate knowledge effectively. In Kenya, where information flows across diverse institutions such as universities, county governments, and banks, understanding the variety of knowledge sources is essential for efficient service delivery and decision-making. This chapter explores the different sources from which knowledge is derived, classified, and accessed, providing a foundation for managing knowledge assets in libraries and information centers. Professionals will learn how to identify, classify, and utilize both internal and external knowledge sources to enhance organizational learning and innovation.
A knowledge management source is any place, person or record from which knowledge can be obtained to support the work of the library and its users. A library that documents its sources knows where its knowledge is, who holds it, how reliable it is and how it can be reached. Without this, staff waste time looking for what the library already has, or rely on the memory of one person. This topic describes the internal and external sources, shows how sources are classified and by what criteria, and explains how access to them is provided through retrieval tools and methods of access. A college library, for example, draws on its own staff and records for local procedures, and on publishers, government bodies and research institutions for subject knowledge.
Internal sources are those that exist inside the library or its parent institution. They are created or collected by the institution's own members in the course of work. They are valuable because they reflect local conditions and can be reached quickly, but they are only useful if they are recorded and kept up to date.
Staff are the main internal source, especially of tacit knowledge: the skills, experience and judgement that are not written down. An experienced circulation assistant knows how to settle a dispute over a lost book, and a cataloguer knows which rule to apply when a title is unclear. The library finds out who knows what by keeping an expertise directory, holding staff briefings and interviewing senior staff before they leave. Mentoring, job shadowing and team discussions pass the knowledge to others.
Records and documents are the written output of the library's work. They include policies, procedure manuals, annual reports, minutes of meetings, circulation and usage statistics, user surveys, accession registers, and correspondence. They hold explicit knowledge that can be read and copied. The library keeps them in an orderly filing system, in paper or electronic form, with a retention schedule that shows how long each type is kept.
A database is an organised collection of electronic records that can be searched. The library's internal databases include the catalogue of holdings, the register of users and loans, the inventory list, and an institutional repository of theses, reports and local publications. They are a source of precise, structured knowledge, such as which subjects are borrowed most or which titles are overdue. Access is controlled, so that personal details of users are seen only by authorised staff.
Collaboration platforms are electronic spaces where staff work together and exchange knowledge. They include an intranet, shared network drives, cloud document folders, messaging groups, e-mail archives, wikis and discussion forums. They capture much of the day-to-day knowledge of the library, such as how a problem was solved. They need rules on what is stored, who may edit, and how old material is archived, or they become cluttered and unreliable.
External sources lie outside the library and its institution. They bring new ideas, current developments and authoritative information that the library does not produce itself. They must be checked for reliability, since the library does not control their quality.
Industry publications are journals, magazines, newsletters, professional reports, standards and manuals produced for a particular field. For a library, they include professional journals of librarianship and information science, and publications of professional associations. They keep staff informed about developments such as new cataloguing standards or new library software.
Conferences, workshops, seminars and trade exhibitions bring together practitioners, suppliers and researchers. Staff learn of new practice through papers and demonstrations, meet suppliers of books and systems, and make contacts for future sharing. Knowledge gained should be recorded in a short report and shared with colleagues who did not attend, or it stays with the person who went.
Government ministries, departments and regulatory bodies publish laws, policies, statistics, guidelines and reports. A national statistics office publishes population and economic data, and the National Council for Law Reporting publishes Acts and law reports on the Kenya Law website. Such publications are authoritative, are often free, and guide a library on matters such as copyright, records and data protection.
Online communities and forums are groups of practitioners who discuss questions on the internet, through discussion boards, mailing lists and social media groups. Staff ask for advice, share experience and hear of new tools from colleagues in other libraries. The quality of the answers varies, because anyone may post, so important advice is checked against an authoritative source before it is used.
Universities, research institutes and other bodies that carry out research produce studies, theses, data sets and expert advice. A library can obtain their publications through their repositories, invite their staff to speak, and join joint projects. They are especially useful for specialised subjects that the library's own staff cannot cover.
Classification is the grouping of sources into classes that share a feature, so that they can be recorded, located and managed in the same way. A classified list of sources lets the library see its strengths and gaps and decide how each group is to be stored and shared. The classes below are often used.
| Class | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Internal and external | Whether the source belongs to the institution or comes from outside | Procedure manual, publisher's report |
| Explicit and tacit | Whether the knowledge is written down or held by people | Cataloguing rules, a senior cataloguer's experience |
| Formal and informal | Whether the source is official and documented or a matter of conversation and practice | Approved policy, discussion at a staff meeting |
| Primary and secondary | Whether the source is original material or interprets original material | Survey data, a textbook that summarises it |
| Static and dynamic | Whether the source stays the same or is constantly updated | An archived report, an online news feed |
A single source may belong to several classes at once. The annual report of the library, for example, is internal, explicit, formal, primary and static.
The criteria are the questions asked about a source in order to decide its class and how it is to be handled. Each criterion looks at one feature of the source.
Nature asks what kind of knowledge the source holds. Explicit knowledge is documented, such as manuals, reports and databases. Tacit knowledge is carried in the minds of people, such as skills and experience. Some knowledge is embedded in routines and tools, such as the way a circulation system is set up. The answer decides the method of capture: explicit sources are stored and indexed, and tacit sources are drawn out by interviews, mentoring and workshops.
Accessibility asks how easily users can get to the source and whether they are allowed to. Open sources, such as a public website, can be used by anyone. Restricted sources, such as personnel records or unpublished reports, need permission. Some are accessible only at a place, such as a rare book that is used in the reading room. The answer decides access controls and where the source is kept.
Format asks in what form the source is stored: print, electronic, audio-visual or oral. The format decides the equipment needed to use it, the storage conditions, and how it can be copied or preserved. An oral source, such as the account of a retired staff member, must be recorded before it can be kept.
Source type asks where the source comes from and how close it is to the original: internal or external, primary or secondary, formal or informal. The answer helps the library judge the authority of the source and decide whether to rely on it or check it against others.
Sources are also judged on how reliable they are, how current they are and how sensitive their content is. A law report from an official publisher is reliable, a social media post is not until checked. An old edition of a manual may have been superseded, and a personnel file is confidential. These judgements decide how the source is labelled and protected.
Access is the ability of staff and users to find knowledge sources and use them. A source that cannot be found is of no use, however good it is. Access depends on tools that locate sources and on methods that let users reach them in a way that suits them. The library also controls access with user names, passwords and roles, so that personal records and restricted documents are seen only by authorised staff. It trains users through short sessions, written guides and help desk support, so that the sources it has documented are actually used.
Retrieval tools are the software and techniques that find sources in response to a request.
A search engine finds records in a large collection from the words that a user types. The library's catalogue search and the search box of its repository are search engines for the library's own holdings, and a general web search engine searches the internet. Results are ranked by how well they match the words. The user checks the result for reliability, since appearing first does not mean that the source is accurate.
Boolean operators are the words AND, OR and NOT, which combine search terms. AND narrows a search, so that "knowledge AND sharing" finds only records that contain both words. OR broadens it, so that "wiki OR forum" finds records with either word. NOT excludes, so that "repository NOT software" leaves out records on software. Brackets and quotation marks can be used to group terms and to search for an exact phrase.
Metadata is data about a source, such as its title, creator, date, subject, format and location. It is what retrieval tools search when they find a record, so accurate metadata makes a source easy to find. A standard set of fields, such as the Dublin Core elements, allows different systems to exchange and read the records. Poor or missing metadata is one reason why a source cannot be found.
Methods of access are the ways in which users reach the sources. The criteria for choosing them are how quickly they bring the user to the right source, how easily they can be learned, how well they suit different users and how secure they are.
Search functionality is the ability to look for sources by typing terms. A good search function allows searching by title, author, subject or keyword, by phrase, and in advanced forms with limits such as date or format. It corrects spelling slips where it can, and shows results that can be narrowed further. It suits the user who knows what is wanted.
Browsing is looking through a structured list or classification to find sources without a specific search term. Users browse a subject tree, a classified shelf, an alphabetical list or a menu of topics. It suits the user who does not know the exact term, and it shows related sources that a search would not display. It needs a clear and logical arrangement.
Natural language processing lets a user type or speak a question in ordinary language, such as "how do I register a new member", and the system works out what is meant and finds an answer. It is used in assistants and chat services on library websites. It makes access easier for users who do not know search syntax, but it can misunderstand questions or fail with some languages and local expressions, so answers should be checked.
Mobile access lets users reach sources on a phone or tablet, through a mobile-friendly website, a library application or a messaging service. It allows access away from the library and outside opening hours. The library designs for small screens, takes account of the cost of data for users, and protects information that is accessed on personal devices.
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Create a free accountThis chapter explored the diverse sources of knowledge management, emphasizing the importance of both internal and external platforms. Internal sources include organizational knowledge repositories and collaborative tools, while external sources encompass publications, trade shows, agencies, forums, and institutions that contribute valuable insights. The classification of knowledge management sources was examined with attention to different criteria such as content type, accessibility, and relevance. Retrieval tools play a critical role in organizing and accessing knowledge efficiently, ensuring users can find information when needed. Various methods of access were discussed, focusing on criteria like functionality and processing capabilities to optimize knowledge utilization. The chapter also covered approaches to recording knowledge sources, highlighting the use of mapping and templates to systematize information. These techniques facilitate better management and retrieval of knowledge, enhancing organizational learning and decision-making processes.
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