The Australian Library Journal
volume 46 issue 1
[editorial] John Levett
The emerging phenomenon of knowledge management
Marianne Broadbent
Knowledge management is rapidly developing as a specific and planned management practice to capture and re-use organisational knowledge. This might sound familiar to librarians who think it is what they do now. But the situation is much more complex than
the mere combination of some familiar terms might at first indicate. Knowledge management is a form of expertise-centred management which draws out tacit knowledge making it accessible for specific purposes to improve the performance of organisations.
Successful application of knowledge management practices involves understanding and constructively utilising organisational learning and the information politics of an organisation. Librarians are one group who have the background and orientation to
comprehend the notion of knowledge management. But to be key players, they need to understand its dynamics and difficulties. Readers are challenged to come forward with examples of knowledge management in practice.
Manuscript received November 1996 - This is a refereed article
Global networking
Clifford Lynch
I would like to welcome Dr Clifford Lynch: if you were here four years ago you will know he gave our opening address on that occasion: a brilliant speech. Clifford is a man of many interests in his own right and a member of many influential committees on
technical questions, standards, library matters and data base issues and he is one of the few people who can see how all these phenomena link together. He can synthesise and can make some sense of it for the rest of us. Presently he is the director of
Library Automation at the University of California, Office of the President, where he is responsible for the Melvyl system, which he told me yesterday is now around sixteen years old. It is one of the largest public access information retrieval systems in
existence. Clifford also manages the network that links the nine University of California campuses to each other and to the broader Internet. He has been at the University of California since 1979. He received his PhD in computer science from the
University of California at Berkeley: he is active in the development of standards and is the leader of the Coalition for Network Information's Architecture and Standards Working Group. He has served as director of, and is currently immediate
past-president of the American Society for Information Science. When we contacted Clifford to see if he would be willing to come and speak he e-mailed back immediately saying 'I would be delighted to do this if I can fit it into my schedule.' Several weeks
went by arranging other people to fit in with various meetings, and in the end Clifford had to commute to give this address; he arrived yesterday and he is leaving tomorrow! I have much pleasure in inviting our first keynote speaker, Dr Clifford Lynch to
address us.
Enid Roberts
Surviving victory
Rebecca Lenzini
Barbara Quint, our advertised speaker is ill: she nominated Rebecca Lenzini as her alternate. Rebecca is the President and chief operating officer of the CARL Corporation, which is a Denver-based company specialising in providing networked access to
information. I am sure it will be known to most of you. CARL was named 1994 Small Business of the Year by Denver Chamber of Commerce and was ranked number 126 of 1995 Inc 500. CARL was acquired by Knight Ridder Information in October 1995 and is now a
wholly-owned subsidiary of that company. Rebecca holds degrees from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champagne and a Certificate in Small Business Management from the Harvard Business School. She began her career in libraries and she moved to the
private sector in the early 1980s as vice-president of the Faxon Company. In 1988 she joined CARL where she helped to create Uncover, today a six-million dollar data base and document delivery service, offered almost exclusively over the Internet and
featured in the book Doing business on the internet by Mary Cronin. She is the author of numerous articles on the topics of electronic publishing, copyright and library automation. She serves on the Board of Visitors for the Graduate School of Information
and Library Science at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill and is a former member of the Board of Directors of the National Information Standards Organisation.
Jennifer Affleck
Challenges in the information services market
Neil McLean
This paper is derived from two principal sources:
- a locknote presentation prepared and published for the Eighth Australasian Information online and on disc conference and exhibition held in Sydney on 21-23 January 1997
- papers and opinions presented during the conference.
The aim is to examine the principal dynamics underlying the evolution of the information services market over the past decade. It encompasses an analysis of both the supply and demand sides of the market taking into account economic and technological
factors. A constant theme throughout the paper is the requirement for all sectors of the information industry to reposition themselves as a means of survival.
Reports from Information Online and On Disc 97
Sydney 21-23 January 1997
The editor requested a round dozen delegates to offer their impressions of this popular conference, now in its eighth edition, and it may be one of the best ideas he has ever had. Their unfiltered comments follow below. The editor records his appreciation
for the cheerful and prompt responses forthcoming despite the short lead-time offered to and the already heavy workloads of those responding.
Quality assessment - combating complacency
Felicity McGregor
In 1996, the University of Wollongong Library secured an Achievement in Business Excellence Award from the Australian Quality Council. The Award recognised progress in the incorporation of Total Quality Management principles into all library activities.
Quality management was formally adopted by the library in 1994 as a management framework compatible with established values and previous change programs. Despite considerable goal accomplishment in recent years, new strategies were needed to continue to
build on strengths, and to assimilate continuous review and improvement as a means of managing future change. The Australian Quality Council methodology was selected as a recognised external indicator of achievement which would provide valid bench-marking
with organisations other than libraries. The process is rigorous and the commitment of staff at all levels is essential for success.
Manuscript received December 1996 - This article was commissioned by the editor
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