Knowledge Management: Making It Work (David Skyrme)

Knowledge Management: Making It Work (David Skyrme): "Knowledge Centres

It seems somewhat ironical, that many organizations, having disbanded or dispersed their corporate libraries during the nurturing of the early 1990s, are now looking to create knowledge centres. After all, a knowledge centre is really an enhanced version of a library. Why are organizations investing in one or more such centres rather than leaving it to individuals or small departments? Consider the services that a typical knowledge centre provides. It:

* identifies sources of important knowledge, both inside and outside the company
* catalogues and indexes material so that retrieval is efficient and effective
* maintains and sustains the knowledge repository (the knowledge bank)
* provides a one stop shop for multiple information needs
* knows who can help - pointers to people as well as information
* runs a client advisory service - offering expertise on sources, their availability, relevance, quality and overall usefulness to the business.

In short, it is a focal point for collection, structuring and disseminating information. There are advantages to be gained by focusing these activities into a knowledge centre or hub:

* economies of scale - saving the valuable time of professionals (searching for information)
* gaining discounts from suppliers"