Interpreting the Roles, Competencies and Challenges of the Library and Information Science Professional in Knowledge Management.

Abstract

Knowledge Management (KM) is an ubiquitous phenomenon that manifests in different branches of learning and fields of human activity. This multi-disciplinary attribute is party, responsible for the claims to its ownership by various professional groups. Notwithstanding the foregoing, there is no gainsaying the fact that the Library and Information Practitioners (LIP) are major players in KM. This desk research clarifies the major roles of the Library and Information Science (LIS) professional in KM and highlights some of the emerging changes which its introduction has brought on job titles in Librarianship. The paper also identifies the aspects of the competencies expected of the LIS professionals and pin-points some of the challenges which must be overcome to sustain the relevance of the LIS professional in the emergent KM era. Practical recommendations were advanced to enable the LIS professional overcome the challenges associated with KM.