The Knowledge Economy:
Wherefore Libraries
Albert Simard
Presented to:
Eastern Canada Chapter
Special Libraries Association
Nov. 22, 2007 Ottawa, Ontario
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Libraries have a long history…
Librarians have been
managing knowledge
for about 2,500 years
Library at Alexandria
established in 283 BC
Capture and store the
worlds knowledge
Library of Alexandria – artist’s concept
But… 2

Tradition is not enough…
“While they all make varying use of corporate
libraries and information systems, few
knowledge workers feel that these groups can
be relied on for more than a modest amount
of their information needs.”
James McGee and Lawrence Prusak
Managing Information Strategically (1993)
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Knowledge Economy
Success based on what you
know, not what you own
Value of goods based on
knowledge, not material
Creating and using
knowledge is the key
Organizations must evolve
or become irrelevant
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Outline
Knowledge Assets
Preserving
Knowledge
Knowledge
Markets
Social Networking
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The Evolution of Knowledge
Management
KM Knowledge Type of Implications
Generation Carrier Knowledge
1st Artifacts Explicit Infrastructure for
acquiring, organizing,
sharing & reusing
knowledge
2nd Individuals Tacit Individual behavior,
capturing & exchanging
knowledge
3rd Networks Emergent Network connectivity,
group collaboration &
synergy
(Patti Anklam, 2007) 6

Knowledge Attributes
Knowledge is increasing; half-life is decreasing
Knowledge can be in many places at one time
Knowledge may be permanent or time sensitive
Knowledge is used without being consumed
Selling does not reduce supply nor ability to resell
Once disseminated, knowledge cannot be recalled
Thomas Stewart (1997) 7

Explicit Knowledge
Books, publications, reports
Photos, diagrams, illustrations
Computer code, decision-support systems
Presentations, speeches, lectures
Stories, lessons learned, recordings
Laws, regulations, procedures, policies
Embedded into products
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Tacit Knowledge
Awareness
Skills
Mental models
Expertise
Judgement
Wisdom
Corporate memory
The Thinker - Rodin 9

Transferring Knowledge
Conversations, discussions, dialogue
Questions & answers
Knowledge extraction
Advice, briefings, recommendations
Mentoring, teaching, examples
Presentations, lectures, stories
Documents, books, manuals
Education, training, demonstration
Meetings, workshops, conferences
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Outline
Knowledge Assets
Preserving
Knowledge
Knowledge
Markets
Social Networking
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Knowledge Preservation
Value Chain
Codifier Custodian Provider Manager
Specialist
Capture Organize Store Retrieve Maintain
inventory map capacity access continuity
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Capturing Knowledge Assets
• Objectives
• Identification
• Evaluation
• Document
• Codify
• Digitize
• Enter
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Briefing Note Database
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Organizing Knowledge
Epistemology
Cognitive approaches
Automated methods
Classification systems
Thesauri, taxonomies
Interdisciplinary issues
Linguistic issues
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Storing Knowledge Assets
• Information technology infrastructure
• Systems for archiving and managing knowledge
• Interface for entry and administration
• Data warehouse, distributed databases
• Information repository, records management
• Knowledge repository, knowledge map
• Digital libraries, traditional libraries
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Retrieving Knowledge Assets
Access to knowledge
Browser interface
Search engine
Extraction tools
Manipulation tools
Assembly tools
Retrieval system
Relativity - Escher 17

Maintaining Knowledge Assets
• Content integrity
• System and content security
• Access to content
• Service standards
• Migrate technology
• Life cycle management
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Migrating Knowledge Assets
Paper
Punch cards
Paper tape
Magnetic tape
Computer disks
Floppy disks
Tape cassettes
Diskettes
CD-ROMS
Gone With the Wind
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Outline
Knowledge assets
Preserving
Knowledge
Knowledge
Markets
Social Networking
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A Transactional
Knowledge Market
Supply (Providers)
Providers and users
connect through a
virtual marketplace
facilitated by
knowledge brokers
Government On-Line;
Demand (Users) Global Disaster
Information Network
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Knowledge Market: Attributes
Price – reciprocity, repute, altruism
Trust – visible, ubiquitous, top-down
Signals – position, education, reputation
Inefficiencies – incomplete information,
asymmetry, localness
Pathologies – monopolies, artificial
scarcity, trade barriers
Adapted from Davenport (1998)
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Knowledge Brokers
Assist with search and retrieval
Assist in adapting knowledge to user needs
Maintain information repositories
Provide digital infrastructure for exchange
Manage the market infrastructure
Assist with knowledge dissemination
Increase awareness of knowledge availability
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Knowledge Sharing: Mechanisms
Talking (real, virtual)
E-mail (individuals, list servers, distribution lists)
Chat rooms, forums, discussion groups
Communities of interest, social networks
Groupware (teams, working groups)
Symposia, conferences, workshops
Data, information, & knowledge repositories
Libraries (repositories, access, search, retrieval)
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CAB International
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National Library of Canada
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Canadian Forest Service
Libraries - MetaFore
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A Digital Library
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Digital Libraries: Characteristics
Documents are assembled on the fly
Large collection of digital objects
All types of digital material
Stored in electronic repositories
May be centralized or distributed
Accessible through national networks
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Protecting Common E-Documents
Organizations (provider & user under one
organizational mandate)
Providers (generally not aligned with common
good, societal needs and long-term preservation)
Users (preservation tends to be user-centric)
Community archives (most complex)
Purpose (historical, cultural, scholarly record)
Legal protection (from liability from open access)
Access rights & restrictions (sustainable business model)
(Donald Waters, 2007)
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Outline
Knowledge assets
Preserving
Knowledge
Knowledge
Markets
Social Networking
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Network Governance
Charter – Members agree to participate in
achieving common objectives, within a
network structure, with participant records
and accountability and common rights and
responsibilities to property.
Nature: Flexible, dynamic, opportunistic,
synergistic, unpredictable. (unstructured,
self-organized, maximizes reward)
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Network scale
Group: few participants; elicit knowledge;
unstructured; aggregating knowledge
(knowledge services task group)
Communities: many participants; share
knowledge; self-directed; common interest
(organizational IM community)
Networks: massive participants; peer
production; emergent processes; common
ownership (Linux developers)
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Network Structure
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Network Principles
Openness – collaboration based on candor,
transparency, freedom, flexibility, and
accessibility.
Peering – horizontal voluntary meritocracy,
based on fun, altruism, or personal values.
Sharing – increased value of common
products benefits all participants.
Acting Globally – value is created through
very large knowledge ecosystems.
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Network - Examples
Blogs – Individuals can easily publish anything on
the Web without specialized knowledge.
YouTube – enables easy publishing and viewing of
video clips on the Web.
SlideShare – Enables easy publishing and sharing
of PowerPoint presentations on the Web.
Innocentive – A global “Ideagora” where those who
need solutions and those with solutions can meet.
Wikis – Rapid collaborative development of
products; anyone can revise anything
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Network Successes
Wikipedia –2 Million English entries; 165 Languages;
10 times larger then Encyclopedia Britannica
Linux – open-source operating system developed by
thousands of programmers around the world
GoldCorp – released geological data in an open
contest to find gold; increased reserves by factor of 4.
Procter & Gamble – uses network of 90,000 external
scientists to leverage internal research capacity.
Leggo – uses imagination and creativity of worldwide
toy owners to create new products.
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Natural Resources Canada Wiki
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Capturing Value
Bring it inside the organization
Stabilize it; make it work
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Knowledge As a Commons
Prerequisites
Virtual (digitized, on an Internet server)
Economic (no cost to user; who pays cost?)
Legal (flexible copyright, license restrictions)
Primacy of authors
Facilitate (digitize, metadata, administration)
Remove disincentives (prepublication, no reward)
Create incentives (OA recognition, prestige)
Intellectual property
Constrictive (excludes imitation, restricts entry)
Facilitating (protects disclosure, dissemination)
Irrelevant (not air tight, grey areas)
(Hess and Ostrom, 2007)
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Knowledge Commons Principles
An open, collective, and self-governed knowledge
ecosystem is more sustainable than restricted
knowledge held as a resource and property.
Imitation is important for transmitting social and cultural
knowledge.
Markets are important for organizing a knowledge
commons, but need to be well regulated to maintain
open access.
Open systems of recording and preserving knowledge
are important to democratic societies.
Hess and Ostrom (2007)
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A final thought…
“The Internet allows users to become their
own librarians, able to research, study,
and investigate anything with nothing
more than a mouse and a keyboard.”
Francis Cairncross
The Death of Distance (1997)
simarda@inspection.gc.ca
http://www.slideshare.net/Al.Simard
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