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The Library & Information Science Professional's Career Development Center |
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Wanted:
Chief Knowledge Officers by Bryan Craig |
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Opportunities for librarians are now found outside of the library walls. Organizations need librarians, regardless of the type; there is little doubt about this statement. There is a new term that is appearing on the horizon and librarians should embrace it: the Chief Knowledge Officer (CKO). Let me backtrack a bit. A couple years ago after an information inventory, I remember I was sitting at a table surrounded by heads of various departments in my Foundation. We were preparing to purchase an integrated library system, and our consultants and I visited these departments to find out what types of information existed. While we were giving this report, a light bulb came on in my head. How could librarians improve the managing of information in not just their own library, but the entire organization? As librarians, we were looking beyond just our own library to the big picture. I might have found my niche. It wasn’t until recently that I realized there might be an entire field related to this: knowledge management. I began to wonder: how can I become a knowledge manager? As I began to look for answers, it became more confusing. There are a lot of buzz words around and very few sound like “librarian.” The business world, it seems, has been dealing with this idea for longer than most industries. There are several business positions and concepts like knowledge analysts, enterprise portals, knowledge architecture, learning architects, business intelligence, KM initiatives, etc. The universities also seem to be seeing the profitability of identifying, retrieving, organizing, and preserving information; thus they are creating such positions as Coordinators of Information and VPs of Information Resources. Yet, many of these people are from the Information Technology departments, and the job descriptions call for a large amount of technical expertise. Yet I have to think: why can’t librarians take on these roles? One may be familiar with the role of a Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Chief Operating Officer (COO), and the Chief Financial Officer (CFO). There are also Chief Technology Officers (CTO) and Chief Information Officers, positions typically reserved for heads of Information Technology. However, the Chief Knowledge Officer is different. (The CKO could come from a technical background, which is understandable, since the means of organizing, presenting, finding, and preserving information is handled in large part by computer technology. Because of this, the CTO/CIO and the CKO must work very closely.) Suppose an organization wants to look at new software or portal search mechanism. The CIO might work with implementation, flexibility, security, and upgrade issues, while the CKO might think of usability, search and information standard capabilities, future applications, and think more like a user. Also, the CKO might oversee training on the software or search engine. Many librarians may not have a strong background in computer code, or have heavy network experience, but they know about information and how to manage it. Knowledge deals with human beings, not just technology. The CKO must decide how information is evaluated, created, processed, inventoried, retrieved, and archived, all within the goals of the organization. There are huge ramifications when an organization creates records, installs a new online catalog or a firewall, designs a website, creates virtual workplaces, copyrights information, and creates policies and procedures on how one department communicates information to another (or too many times, it doesn’t), and the CKO must be present in all these events. What is needed to meet this wide range of responsibilities is someone with a background in information -- essentially, a librarian. Many librarians have vision and tend to look at the larger picture. Librarians are the people who really examine how information is created, cataloged, stored, retrieved, and who are always looking around the next corner for the next standard or software to present information. During our entire careers, we are pursuing standards and delivering information across many platforms, and we think about the user every step of the way. Librarians could and should step up and take on this new challenge. Why not have us in Fortune 500 companies, colleges and universities, local historical societies or cultural museums? (Many of these organizations already have librarians, and they all need knowledge management. They are often not seen in this light and are not given management status. They are certainly not paid like a chief officer, and often don’t have authority to make things happen.) I believe current librarians can use their familiar skills and work in these positions, and training is now available. Many Library and Information Science schools are creating Information Management (IM) or Knowledge Management degrees and classes. Students might also need business classes if they plan to move into the private sector. Here are a few sites that might prove helpful for those who want to pursue this path: It is time that we quit selling ourselves short and proclaim to all organizations that we are effective knowledge managers and have strengths in organizing and managing information. After all, we have been doing this for a very long time. Bryan Craig is presently the Research Librarian at Monticello. He has an MLS and an M.A. from Kent State University and hopes to be a CKO in the future. Article published Nov 2003 Disclaimer: The ideas expressed in LIScareer articles are those of their respective authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the LIScareer editors.
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Page last updated
10/03/2005
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