Application of Knowledge Management in Festus Aghagbo Nwako University Library for Improved Service Delivery

Abstract

The application of knowledge management in various areas of library services has helped to achieve efficiency in service delivery. The purpose of this study was to explore the application of knowledge management in Festus Aghagbo Nwako University Library (FANL) for improved service delivery. It established the fact that in FANL, KM has been successfully applied in collection development and management, cataloguing and classification, circulation and access services, reference and research services, professional development, digital library and institutional repositories, among others. This study also examined the concept of KM, brief history of KM, brief history of FANL, types of knowledge, relevance of KM in libraries, and challenges of application of KM in FANL. The paper concluded that KM is applied to a high extent in FANL for improved service delivery. Major recommendations made include: continuous organization of seminars and workshops for the library staff to enable them understand KM strategy and vision clearly for effective implementation of KM initiatives in libraries; library staff should acquire the necessary skills for effective application and utilization of KM tools and techniques; there should be sufficient provision of financial resources for the implementation and sustainability of KM initiatives in libraries, there should be sufficient technology infrastructure to keep the KM systems and tools up-to-date.