Knowledge management: Will it be useful for libraries?

Knowledge management (KM) offers academic libraries the opportunity to improve effectiveness, both for themselves and their parent institutions. This article summarizes important issues of knowledge management within academic libraries, and how librarians can become more effective as information intermediaries. Exploiting knowledge can be a major competitive advantage for libraries, which can translate into better service to users. This article further focuses on librarians and the information they use in carrying out various tasks, and in organizing a library to effectively meet the needs of a large and diverse group of faculty, students, and staff. Current applications in academic libraries and higher education are also described along with discussion on similarities and differences between knowledge management and academic library practices.