The World Digital Library (WDL) is still in its nascent stage and attempts to collect and make available material from around the world in multilingual format. To make a complete success of this challenging and huge responsibility, what we really need is a knowledge management program.
By saying that I mean to encourage my fellow librarians to blend LOC’s internal and external information and channelize into knowledge via technology platform. This would imply not shying away from the international librarians who are managing these collections at their local end and then share information globally amongst each other about the existing collection practices, the metadata standards and cataloging rules. This way we will be able to capture the knowledge of these librarians and the WDL project will be a true knowledge sharing project on a global footing. A knowledge management program for the implementation of vast projects such as WDL requires patience and co-operation, but the results far outnumber the hindrances.
Many libraries often maintain database of best practices and lessons learnt on a day to day basis. Integrating this knowledge may be a challenge initially, but by means of proper KM practices, the knowledge sharing is an achievable target. The WDL will benefit tremendously from synthesizing and streamlining the personal and contextual information that the librarians from all over the world who are contributing to this project may have to offer. This kind of attempt may actually become an aggregated KM project. Each library may either need to have a KM program in place, or the LOC may need to run a world wide KM program. Each of the libraries involved will need to make visible its knowledge and its intensity. A knowledge infrastructure then needs to be built upon the existing knowledge cultures. It will be very essential for the LOC to treat these librarians as organizational assets to the LOC even though; they may not be part of the LOC. The communication channels must enhance the transfer of exisitng knowledge of concepts, data, and documentation in a high quality and cost-efficient manner.
The hardest part in the KM implementation may come from librarians who will be required to broaden their vision. Sharing expertise and knowledge that was developed over years during their professional work in their library may be slightly intimidating for the librarians involved. The librarians may need to develop a “big picture” mentality and develop their communication and technology skills. The skills that are critical right now for the sucess of the WDL project are those of webmaster , technical communicator, librarian and business analyst.A single librarian may not have all of these skills.It is only through knowledge sharing, that these skills can be transferred.
It is worth pointing out here that some of these libraries which are a part of the WDL project may belong to cultures which are strongly feudal or anarchist in nature. It is here that the LOC may find it difficult to gain the return of value from investments supporting the knowledge management program. LOC will have to prioritize decisions about the needs of the whole organization, rather than that of its specific parts. Since Information Technology is the tool that facilitates the rapid dissemination of knowledge, the speed and precision of information technology in these countries needs to be evaluated and taken into account. Getting hold of the complete picture of the "information politics" that goes around in these international libraries may be a challenging task for the LOC.
Disclaimer: I do not work for Library of Congress and the ideas expressed here are my own thoughts and they are not meant to endorse The LOC or the WDL. On the other hand, LOC or WDL are not endorsing me either.
November 21, 2009
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