Creating a Knowledge Base: Analyzing a Veteran Reference Librarian's Brain

Virtual reference transactions provided a solution to a knowledge-management problem at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Library. Online reference services, real-time and e-mail, allow for the development of a knowledge base. One hundred e-mail question-and-answer pairs were analyzed to reveal the steps taken and the sources used by a soon-to-retire librarian. A guide to the information sources and producers at Goddard was created. Given the dynamic nature of information at Goddard, a database built on the Apache, MySQL, PHP (AMP) open source platform was designed for the guide. The resource is now dynamic and can continue to grow with input from all Goddard's librarians.