In our first post on the changing habits of information consumers and the changing role of information professionals as part of the knowledge supply chain, we shared examples of increasing complexity, underpinned by technology and changes in personal preference. In this post, let’s take a look at the third paradigm (KM 3.0) and see what it means for the sustainability and relevance of knowledge managers and special librarians.

Active listening is key to good librarian reference work. Active listening means we’re focused on what our researcher is asking for, not distracted by trying to find resources before the query is complete. Taking time for active listening enhances information professionals’ searches, slows down the urge to rely only on technology and digital resources, and allows time to focus.

Museum online presence is not a new area of museum work, and yet it is widely considered a fledgling or niche area. The physical aspects of a museum traditionally receive more staff attention and a larger amount of the operating budget than its online counterpart.

Projects enable archivists to undertake roles that differ from their usual positions and are training grounds for leadership. Team members likely have other responsibilities in addition to their work on the archival project. Identify gaps in skills or resources, and then begin to locate people to resolve staffing issues. Determining basic team member roles up front allows projects to move forward with vision and vigor.

After one of Stan Garfield’s successful KM webinars, an audience member asked a question about Enterprise Social Networks and their value. It makes one think about the ways in which information consumption is changing and has changed over time—and how our personal habits are a key driver of this change.

Sharing museum objects online is a practice most museums are implementing on a regular basis. However, with the evolution of social media, digital user expectations, and museum collections management systems (CMS), it’s not always easy to know where, what, and how to share. This post will provide basic guidelines for sharing digital objects from the museum CMS in museum social media.

More than the walls have ears! Have you experienced enjoying a conversation with a friend and then receiving ads on Google or Facebook related exactly to what you were talking about—even though you’d never done a search on that topic?

Archival project managers can create highly functional teams that embrace change, honor individual diversity and contributions, and demonstrate good faith and goodwill. There are many aspects of team-building to consider, including the fundamentals of team size and composition.

In his piece for KMWorld, What is KM? Knowledge Management Explained, Dr. Michael Koenig provides an excellent overview of the origins, goals and fundamentals of knowledge management. The article is useful for those new to KM, and also reminds seasoned practitioners of the discipline’s principles, stages of development and current status.

The fallow months of winter are usually the best time for museums to perform museum grant writing and planning. Many funding agencies have refreshed their grant requirements and deadlines for the upcoming year, and many of the grant applications usually aren’t due until early Spring through to the end of Summer.

As information professionals we work with technology all the time. It has built-in benefits and pitfalls. When we ignore or harness the addictive nature of technology, when we maintain our focus and minimize distractions, we increase our productivity. That’s quite a claim, but we all know it’s true. We also know that multitasking isn’t a real skill, it’s a concentration breaker.

Delivering a project on time, on budget, and with quality doesn’t always mean it’s successful. And even if expectations of cost and speed are met—or were unrealistic—stakeholders are the final judges of the project. In their eyes, the project may be late, over budget, or inferior quality.

Too much focus on technology when implementing a KM program is a common problem. But you will still need to use software applications, so it’s important to understand them and leverage them in an optimal way. Suggestions for doing so include finding a “killer KM app”. Please read on for my thoughts on this topic, drawn from my book, Proven Practices for Promoting a Knowledge Management Program.

In our digital age, museum digitization projects seem to always be on the agenda at museums. Until 100% of museum collections are online, there’s more work to do, and if a museum is in active acquisition there may never be a day when every object of the museum has a digital surrogate online. With so many areas of the museum collection to choose from, how do we begin to prioritize our digitization efforts?

Below are my top 5 prompts to consider when deciding the museum’s next digitization and cataloging project.

Special librarians need to keep our eye on the Internet of Things, since it not only reduces the friction between user and their goals for turning on lightbulbs, meeting with each other, and managing their viewing habits, it’s already a long way into exploring the content universes that they rely on.

In their interesting blog post, 10 Tips for Creating a Knowledge Ecosystem in your Organization, a group of Wiley publication editors shared their insights on effective KM practices. As a result of seeking a “better understanding of how knowledge is constructed and how it is connected to prior learning”, they compiled a list of ten knowledge ecosystem elements.

For many of the museums I’ve worked in (and with, as a consultant), the development of digital collections was haphazard. The evolution of museum collections management software, digitization technology, and issues such as digital preservation and storage have all contributed to an uneven approach to publishing digital collections online.

Social media is not a static creature. As we have seen, it is a powerful force for both good and bad. And it’s just a toddler now. What is coming up? There are quite a few trends in social media that can be used in special libraries to promote services and products.