KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT EDUCATION IN LIBRARY AND INFORMATION SCIENCE SCHOOLS: AN EXPLORATORY STUDY

Introduction. As an emerging and multidisciplinary field, knowledge management (KM) has gained much popularity among academic and professional disciplines. Library and information science (LIS) embraced KM during the mid-nineties, and in the context of the adoption of KM, this study aims at exploring the current state of KM education offered by LIS schools. Method. The study conducted a worldwide online survey of 300 LIS schools to locate KM offerings, followed by a case analysis of KM Master‟s programs. Data were collected from IFLA World Guide to Library, Archive & Information Science Education, 2007, and from the Internet. A content analysis of the programs‟ homepages, course descriptions, syllabi, and individual KM courses was performed. Results. The survey shows that only 12.3% of LIS schools have adopted KM education in different degree programs, either integrated into or separate from the LIS degree. Most of the KM offerings were found in economically advanced regions of the world. More than 50% of the programs were offered at Master‟s level. The overall analysis of full-fledged Master‟s programs in KM suggests that LIS schools concentrated more on IT and information than on business and human perspectives of KM. Conclusion. Important implications of the study are to define the boundaries of KM and to integrate major perspectives of KM in designing KM education programs. As the diffusion of KM education is not at a satisfactory level, the study recommends that LIS schools should respond quickly and positively to incorporate KM education and to expand their knowledge domain.