Knowledge System and Spiral of Scientific Method by Dr. S. R. Ranganathan

The paper deals with concept of spiral of scientific method given by father of Library science Dr. S. R. Ranganathan. It lay downs relationship between types of research and spiral of knowledge. How the process of research is co-related with spiral of scientific method given by Dr. Ranganthan. The various types of research are elaborated keeping in view the spiral of scientific method. The approaches of research such as qualitative and quantitative approach are also examined. The spiral of knowledge is studied having relationship with research process.

Semantic Web, Ontology, and Linked Data

Enormous amount of information is being produced every day and get consumed according to the needs of human being. Semantic web and ontology represent information which are machine processable and understand the semantics present among the entities. Ontology can be represented as Knowledge Organization and data modelling tool. Librarians are designated as “Information Custodian” or “Knowledge Keepers”. Implication and application of concepts in LIS can play big role in shaping knowledge-based services and mining and inferring them in better way in future. Ontology and semantic web is the future of LIS as speculated by several professionals and experts. This chapter would delineate a basic overview of Semantic Web, Ontology and linked data.

Utilising ICTs for Resource Sharing Initiatives in Academic Institutions in Zimbabwe

This chapter examines the use of Information and Communication Technologies and their impact on resource sharing initiatives within the context of library consortia in Zimbabwe. The writer also explores the various projects initiated to promote resource sharing. The challenges and opportunities that ICT's provide are also meticulously explored. The writer probes how ICT's have transformed academic libraries in Zimbabwe in the context of digital technology. It also seeks to find out the benefits that libraries can accrue from investing in ICT. The paper also explores the extent to which academic libraries are making use of technology to contribute to the national and global research agenda.

Knowledge Management Practices at IIMs

The study aims to highlight the existing Knowledge Management Practices at Indian Institute of Management (IIMs). The present study is limited to four IIMs from four zones of the country. For the study the select institutions were physically visited and a self-administered questionnaire was distributed among the library authority of the select institutes. Tacit knowledge management is not getting priority in comparison to explicit knowledge.

Knowledge Management Capability in Higher Education

For many years, universities have been accredited for being driving engines for the global economy by training experts in various fields of study such as Medicine, Education, Engineering, Mining, Technology, Military and Knowledge Management just to mention some of the most notable ones. Mzuzu University (MZUNI) which is one of the four public universities in Malawi is also involved in the production of knowledge through research and teaching activities by its lecturers. By self-administering a questionnaire to 130 lecturers at MZUNI, the authors investigated knowledge management practices by lecturers at MZUNI by addressing three objectives namely; types of knowledge created and acquired by lecturers, techniques of sharing and dissemination of knowledge and challenges faced. Results suggest that lecturers are involved in knowledge management practices although knowledge creation is mainly achieved through PhD and master's theses as part of their training as opposed to research outputs published in peer reviewed journals.

Thesaurus Construction and Knowledge Management in Information Centers in the Scope of Knowledge Mapping in Public Institutions

Taxonomies, thesauri and ontologies are formal abstractions that facilitate individuals and institutions organize their knowledge as part of a controlled language, which make them essential for developing and maintaining organizational knowledge repositories and institutional memories. Ministry of Development is an expert based organization which plans and guides Turkey's development process with a macro-economic view and focuses on the coordination of policies and strategy development. This paper will present and document the first-hand experience and initial findings of BIHAP (Knowledge Mapping Research and Development Project), which has also contributed to the manual construction of the controlled vocabulary of the “development planning”. We will also share our reflections as lessons-learned and good practices from part of this project. We hope these findings and reflections will be useful for other related works for thesaurus construction and knowledge management in institutional information centers and libraries.

Web 2.0 Tools and Application

Web 2.0 or can say the social media is the buzzword for LIS professionals. Recently the trend of web 2.0 is increasing its importance not in the field of knowledge sharing but also in knowledge managing. The main aim of this research paper is to highlight the features of web 2.0 tools which are useful for knowledge sharing and as well as in knowledge managing. This paper also highlights how web 2.0 has brought drastic change in library services or library operation, how the research community can get information in fraction of seconds, how library professional can adopt and maintain their prompt approach to answer the user's queries by using web 2.0 tools. This paper provides a contrast between the knowledge management, sharing and web 2.0 tools.

Use of Institutional Repository for Information Dissemination and Knowledge Management

The paper is a case study which gives a summary of the experience in disseminating information through an institutional repository at the Automotive Research Association of India, Pune. The paper has proven to cover different aspects of Knowledge Management (KM) and discusses more about Institutional Repository in Knowledge Management perspective. In this paper, we emphasize the need for deploying and share our experience in creating a state-of-art Institutional Repository using the DSpace software. The method of developing the IR, which includes, the installation, defining the communities and collections, content development and management are illustrated. The paper also illustrates the library services and mode of information dissemination to its users by engaging with knowledge management. It also discusses the proposed initiative of incorporating the library database from LibSys and linking the e-Modules from Learning Management System (LMS) to the institutional repository for the benefit of user community at ARAI.

Knowledge Sharing Cultural Dimensions from Team and Organization Perspective

Process view of Knowledge Management (KM) suggests that KM can be broken down into a series of processes commonly labeled as knowledge creation, storage, sharing and application. Out of these, KM literature identifies knowledge sharing as most important and complex. Literature also suggests that knowledge sharing and culture is not studied under both the perspective of a team and organization. Other import success factors for KM are IT infrastructure and organizational structure. IT is important in how knowledge travels and is accessed in the organization. Structure acts both as a bridge and a barrier in KM process. Of all the factors identified, culture remains the most understudied and complex. This chapter seeks to investigate and set a precursor to study the relationship between cultural dimensions which are not very well defined, yet important in knowledge sharing behavior. Dimensions of culture which are found to be important are trust and cooperation. Chapter also highlights the need of studying this from team as well as organization perspective.

Mastering Knowledge Management in Academic Libraries

This chapter presents the overview of academic libraries, the adoption of social media in academic libraries, the copyright concern in academic libraries, the concept of knowledge management (KM), the overview of KM in academic libraries, and the significance of KM in academic libraries. KM in academic libraries includes a process of collecting, organizing, classifying, and disseminating the library resources and materials throughout academic libraries. Knowledge in the context of academic libraries can be created through understanding the library user needs and requirements as well as the university's curricula. The adoption of KM is required for academic libraries that seek to serve academic librarians and educators, increase academic performance, strengthen competitiveness, and achieve continuous success in the information age. The chapter argues that applying KM has the potential to enhance the educational performance and reach strategic goals in academic libraries.