Introduction

There is an increasing recognition of the value of knowledge and information to individuals, organisations and communities. As knowledge has become a central productive and strategic asset, the success of all types of organisations is increasingly dependent on their ability to acquire, create, store, share and utilise knowledge. That is why developing procedures and routines to optimise the acquisition, creation, protection and sharing of knowledge and information in the organisations has become one of the most important activities. Knowledge management (KM) is viewed as ‘the creation and subsequent management of an environment which encourages knowledge to be created, shared, learnt, enhanced, organised and utilised for the benefit of the organisation and its customers’ (Abell and Oxbrow, 2001, p. 267). The overall objective of KM is to enable organisations to create value from their intellectual and knowledge-based assets, and thereby achieve organisational effectiveness (Dalkir, 2005). Creating value from such assets involves sharing and use of knowledge for solving problems. Knowledge sharing is used to transform individual knowledge into organisational knowledge (Foss et al., 2010) and is therefore recognised as one of the most important aspects of KM (Kebede, 2010). The success of KM initiatives in every organisation depends on creation, sharing and utilisation of knowledge (Gandhi, 2004), because effective transfer and use of knowledge within an organisation can reduce the chances of duplication of work, saves costs, improves innovation capacity, and therefore sustains competitive advantage, while lack of transfer and use can lead to information overload and confusion, as well as wasted manpower (Adamovic et al., 2012; Clarke, 2004).

KM has been heavily influenced by the growth and application of information and communication technologies (ICT). ICT provides organisations with a wide range of tools to support their employees in organising, searching and sharing knowledge. ICT can be used to support KM activities by allowing people to search for and identify people with expertise that they are looking for. This can be done by creating databases of expertise, searchable web portals or electronic yellow pages.

Academic libraries have been established to support teaching, learning, research activities and development of a culture of sharing and imparting knowledge to fulfil the mission and objectives of their parent institutions. Academic libraries also play a pivotal role in ensuring the success of higher degrees of research. Important activities of academic libraries include collection development, reference services, document delivery, access to organised collections held by the library and assisting users in information search and retrieval (Cholin, 2005; Malhan, 2006). With the recent developments in ICT, especially the Internet and the World Wide Web, academic libraries are expected to initiate the next level of much desired services, that is, just-in-time delivery of the most appropriate and high-quality information at a place where it is desired using state-of-the art ICT-based tools. The advantages offered by ICT have led most academic libraries to provide ICT-based information services to meet the needs of their users (Badar, 2008; Woodward, 2009). The ICT approach has been used in academic libraries to deliver numerous applications such as local/wide area network applications, online information services, online journals and databases, library databases, online access catalogues, automated circulation facilities and digital online archives (Ghuloum and Ahmed, 2011).

Recent advances in ICT have not only increased tremendously the ability to access, store and process information within an academic library, but also have brought significant changes to the concept, organisation, functioning and management of library and information systems and services. In most academic libraries in developed countries, online public access catalogues (OPACs) have largely replaced card catalogues, offering enhanced search capabilities for accessing local collections; they often include the holdings of other area or regional libraries as well. Many libraries are also providing a web interface to their library and information system, often including direct links to electronic journals, books and Internet resources (Mohsenzadeh and Isfandyari-Moghaddam, 2009). ICT can support KM in academic libraries in two ways: by providing the means to acquire, organise, store, retrieve and disseminate information (Sabashini et al., 2012); and by connecting library users with librarians and library services through the use of web-based tools to communicate with library users and share information and knowledge (Jain, 2007; Yuan et al., 2013).

The most common applications of ICT-based KM tools include:

• communication tools such as e-mail, instance messaging, telephones, teleconferencing, intranets and video-conferencing;

• long-standing tools such as databases and institutional archives;

• social media tools such as wikis, blogs, online communities and social networking sites (SNSs).

KM systems are (generally information technology (IT)-based) systems for managing knowledge in organisations, supporting the creation, capture, storage and dissemination of information (Rah et al., 2010). They are designed to facilitate the implementation of KM instruments in support of knowledge processes with the aim of increasing organisational effectiveness. Among existing technologies that are being incorporated into IT-based KM solutions are: expert systems, intelligent agents, decision-support systems, natural language processing, information retrieval, electronic document management, knowledge warehousing, KM software, learning-management platforms, learning-management systems and learning-management portals (Brogan et al., 2001).

A KM system can be any of the following:

• Document based. Any technology that permits creation/management/sharing of formatted documents such as Lotus Notes, web, distributed databases, etc.

• Ontology/taxonomy based. These are similar to document technologies in the sense that a system of terminologies (ie, ontology) is used to summarise the document, for example, author, subject, organisation, etc., as in DHTML and other XML-based ontologies.

• Based on artificial intelligence technologies. These are used as a customised representation scheme to represent the problem domain.

• Integrated digital library systems. These consist of digital resources, technological infrastructure, experience and expertise, digital library services and a KM process.

• Web-based KM systems. These support the creation, organisation, storage, dissemination and utilisation of the institution’s digital knowledge assets.

ICT-Based KM Systems

ICT-based KM systems include web-based applications (blogs, wikis, Really Simple Syndication (RSS)), Instant Messaging (IM), social networking applications (Facebook, MySpace, etc.), social media applications (YouTube, Flickr, etc.), social bookmarking (Delicious, LibraryThing) and web discovery services (WDS). They are being used by libraries and librarians all over the world to promote information services, share information, interact and communicate with users and colleagues. ICT-based KM systems are being used to deliver online library services to users wherever they desire. This chapter outlines how library professionals working in libraries of higher education institutions integrate these systems into their traditional library services.

Use of ICT-Based KM Systems in Libraries

ICT-based tools and applications are widely used in libraries to facilitate networking and resource sharing, eliminate duplication of efforts, improve the speed of operations, increase access to information resources and improve the quality of information services (Peyala, 2011). Use of ICT applications can also assist libraries in creating, storing, transferring and using tacit and explicit knowledge. Libraries can use numerous ICT-based tools including integrated library management systems, competency databases, decision-support systems, online retrieval and search systems, expert networks, e-mail, groupware, teleconferencing, intranets, the World Wide Web, document management systems, video-conferencing, metadata and data mining (Okumus, 2012; Peyala, 2011; Rah et al., 2010; Shanhong, 2000).

Mohsenzadeh and Isfandyari-Moghaddam (2009) performed a study to define the status of the application of ICT in academic libraries in Kerman, Iran. The results showed that the level of application of ICT in Kerman academic libraries was acceptable, but efforts should be made to improve their status to match the ever-increasing demand for better library services at universities. The most important problem and a serious difficulty was lack of educated librarians, which requires suitable investment and planning. Ramzan and Singh (2009) investigated the levels of ICT application in academic libraries across Pakistan and found a lack of ICT infrastructure, especially the absence of computers, e-mail and the Internet. It was revealed that the respondent libraries needed to be fully automated using standard library software. However, access to online resources was found to be extensive and comprehensive.

Parirokh et al. (2008), on the basis of a survey in the United States, report how sharing of knowledge through the use of ICT among librarians can improve organisational learning in academic libraries. The findings of the study show that almost all libraries use e-mail and library websites as part of their communication system. Intranets and telephone lines have also been used by most libraries. However, the traditional face-to-face communication method is also widely used. Virtual reference desks and user mailing lists, which are relatively new developments, had been used by about half of the participating libraries, and probably await a wider acceptance in the future.

Gandhi (2004) describes the value of capturing the tacit knowledge of reference librarians and explains the early efforts of reference librarians to capture tacit knowledge through old information tools like card files of frequently asked questions (FAQs). However, with the recent developments in ICT, these practices have been replaced by the use of common knowledge databases (CKDBs) (Jantz, 2001), web-based ready-reference databases (RRDs) (Stover, 2004) and knowledge banks (Branin, 2003). Both Jantz (2001) and Stover (2004) described the introduction of a new tool that has been developed by a team of reference librarians. Jantz (2001) examined how reference librarians could become more effective with the use of ICT tools and shared his experience of the development and use of CKDB within the New Brunswick Campus Libraries of Rutgers University. Stover (2004) described the development of a web-based RRD for reference services at San Diego State University to capture and reuse the tacit and informal knowledge of reference librarians.

Some scholars suggest creating and maintaining a digital library or institutional repository as a tool for storing, retrieving and sharing all the intellectual assets of a university in a range of formats, including those that are unpublished, unstructured and unique (Ayanbode, 2011; Branin, 2003; Kao and Wu, 2012; Rah et al., 2010; Robertson and Sullivan, 2000). This is because technology in digital libraries is an enabler in the modern information supply chain (Abell, 2000; Jain, 2007; Singh, 2007) and librarians must be skilled at the technical aspects of the job.

Based on a review of the literature, Bem and Coelho (2013) identified the trends and applications of modern ICT-based tools in libraries and found that libraries often developed ICT-based applications (especially regarding the sharing of knowledge through Web 2.0 features). Modern ICT-based tools, such as blogs, wikis, shared classification systems (tagging), social networks, etc., are mostly used in libraries. Xu et al. (2009) investigated the use of Web 2.0 functionalities in academic libraries by visiting 81 academic library websites in New York. The findings reveal that 42% of libraries adopted one or more Web 2.0 functionalities such as blogs, while the implementation of these in individual libraries varies greatly. They have also proposed a conceptual model of Academic Library 2.0 in their report. Redden (2010) explored the potential utilisation of social bookmarking websites by academic libraries. He argues that these websites allow users and organisations to create accounts for bookmarking online content to facilitate academic libraries in collaboration and networking, organisation and sharing of electronic resources, and teaching information literacy. Mphidi and Snyman (2004) focused on the utilisation of intranets in academic libraries, especially in South Africa. The purpose of the study was to report the extent to which academic libraries in South Africa are utilising these intranets. The study found that there was a strong awareness of the importance of ICT as knowledge-sharing tool. Though the content and use of intranets varies from library to library, it was observed from the findings that academic libraries did not utilise the full potential of intranets. Based on a questionnaire survey of 20 library directors working in the academic libraries of the eastern United States, Kim and Abbas (2010) investigated the use of Web 2.0 tools in academic libraries. Based on 230 randomly selected academic library websites and 184 users, they investigated the adoption of Web 2.0/Library 2.0 functionalities by academic libraries and their users. It was found that RSS and blogs have been widely adopted by academic libraries, while the bookmark function was rarely used by users.

Use of ICT-Based KM Systems: A Case Study of Indian Academic Libraries¹

Over the past two decades, academic libraries in India have witnessed the impact of ICT on the structure of their services. Academic libraries in India are at various stages of development regarding the applications of ICT in their day-to-day activities. Many academic libraries in India are already using computers and advanced telecommunication systems, and many more are currently implementing such systems. Libraries in India have explored ICT for computerising a wide range of administrative and technical processes, building databases, developing networks and providing innovative and intelligent information services. The widespread use of ICT in libraries has created a profound impact on library operations, information resources, information services and staff competencies, and expectations of users (Peyala, 2011). Recently, some academic libraries have also started to use Internet and Web 2.0 functionalities to communicate with users and to share knowledge within or outside libraries. Increasingly, libraries around the world are using blogs, wikis, RSS, social media and other web applications for knowledge-sharing purposes (Bejune, 2007; Chu Kai-Wah, 2009; Dickson and Holley, 2010; Kim and Abbas, 2010; Tripathi and Kumar, 2010). These tools are being used to improve the exchange and flow of information in libraries (Nelson, 2008), and meeting information needs by being useful for knowledge sharing between librarians and library users and communication with library users (Mavodza and Ngulube, 2011). However, there is uncertainty about whether and to what extent these ICT tools are being used in Indian academic libraries. Accordingly, the present study is an attempt to examine the use of different ICT-based KM tools in Indian academic libraries at various levels.

Studies on the use of ICT in India indicate that computerisation of library systems and services in India started in the mid-1970s. However, this trend has accelerated during the past two decades, especially in institutions of higher education, due to the increased number of students, greater demand for the use of library material within and outside the library, the increasing amount of materials being published and the development of new and cheaper computers. Over the past three decades, libraries in India have witnessed an impact of ICT on the structure and functioning of services. Many libraries in India are already using ICT and advanced communication systems, and many more are currently in the process of implementing such systems. The Information Library Network Centre, an interuniversity centre of the University Grants Commission, has been supporting, funding and providing the necessary assistance to university libraries as regards automation and networking for the past several years.

Kumar (1987) was the first to survey the status of ICT applications in university libraries in India and found that Delhi University Library conducted stocktaking using computers in 1970, Andhra University Library produced a list of new additions in the 1970s, SNDT University Library obtained computers in 1985, and Marathwada University Library acquired minicomputers for library operations in 1985. Raman and Rao (2003) made a useful study on the use of ICT in central university libraries in India. Their survey provided a useful summary of the current state of the art of ICT in libraries in India. The survey confirmed that ICT has become deeply embedded in the management of information in university libraries. It has become a powerful tool in the handling of routine library operations and services. The analysis shows that the use of ICT in libraries is increasing steadily and significantly, and university libraries have developed an infrastructure for the use of ICT for housekeeping operations and online services for users. Moreover, the study revealed an awareness of current developments concerned with end-users. Vyas (2003) conducted a survey of 12 university libraries in Rajasthan and Indian Institutes of Technology, and found that most of these libraries have implemented ICT in their in-house activities and services, to automate and digitise resources and to share resources at local and national levels.

Haneefa (2007) carried out a study to examine the application of ICT in special libraries in Kerala, India. The results indicate that library automation in special libraries in Kerala largely commenced during 1990–2000. Computerized documentation system-integrated set for information system (CDS-ISIS) was used more in libraries than any other software. The library catalogue was found to be the most popular area for automation. Most of these libraries were hampered by lack of funds, lack of infrastructure and lack of skilled professionals to embark on automation of all library management activities and applications of ICT. Raza and Nath (2007) measured the use of ICT in the university libraries of Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Chandigarh (India), with an ulterior objective to establish some co-relation between quality in libraries and the use of ICT. They have also highlighted the access of networks, information services and barriers in ICT applications. Ultimately, it was emphasised that although quality depends on merging print culture with digital culture, the results confirm that print culture is still dominant in university libraries in this region. The central library of Jammu was the first university library in India to implement modern ICT, including radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology (Malhan, 2006). Tiwari and Sahoo (2013) conducted a survey of the university libraries of Rajasthan to explore the availability of ICT infrastructure, applications of ICT in housekeeping operations and user services, requirements of training and problems encountered during the implementation of ICT. The findings revealed that ICT activities are in the development stage in the university libraries of Rajasthan. The lack of basic management and proper planning and frequent changes in ICT are the basic hurdles to overcome for successful implementation and development of ICT.

Madhusudhan and Nagabhushanam (2013) examined how some university libraries in India provide web access to their collections and user support for that access, and the problems faced by users in accessing web-based library services. The findings show that a few surveyed university libraries offer innovative web-based library services in different sections and many are yet to exploit the full potential of the web forms, and are lagging behind in the effective use of a library website. Preedip and Kumar (2011) found that web information services are not widespread and have yet to take off widely in academic libraries in India; the diffusion rate of Web 2.0 information services is relatively low. Tyagi (2012) observed that a large number of respondents had knowledge about Web 2.0 tools and were more inclined to adopt the Web 2.0 technologies in their personal lives. However, libraries are lagging behind in using social networking technologies. Bhardwaj (2014) investigated how library and information science (LIS) professionals working in higher education institutions in India integrate SNS into their routine work. The findings revealed that information professionals use SNS to socialise, keep themselves up to date, find jobs and acquire information about conferences and seminars in their respective fields.

Major Outcomes

• The majority of the libraries of the central universities in India have implemented ICT in housekeeping operations such as library catalogues, circulation systems, serial control and acquisitions and budget. However, libraries lack ICT implementation in the areas of management information systems and RFID.

• ICT-based information services such as access to in-house-developed library databases, access to electronic resources (e-books, e-journals, e-databases, etc.), and web-based reference services are offered by the majority of the libraries of the central universities. However, other ICT-based services such as online tutorials, subject gateways/web portals, automatic (electronic) mailing alert systems, and FAQ databases are among the least used methods for delivery of information services to users.

• Among the communication tools, e-mail, telephone calls and intranets are being used as part of their communication system by most libraries. However, video-conferencing, which is an effective communication system, has been little used in libraries.

• The majority of academic libraries in India have either created an institutional repository or maintain a digital library for providing online access to a variety of information resources. However, resource discovery tools, which are used for searching and locating a library’s local and remote content at a single search interface, have not gained momentum in Indian academic libraries.

• The use of social media tools such as blogs, wikis, RSS feeds, social networking and social bookmarking in academic libraries in India is also uncommon, as seen from the results of the present study.

• Almost all the respondents indicated a need for trained staff in various areas of ICT applications, including computer programming, website or portal development, hardware maintenance, metadata or e-resource management and content management.

• Lack of trained staff in ICT, low levels of ICT skills among library users, lack of awareness of the potential benefits of ICT and inadequate ICT infrastructure are observed to be the major constraints in the application of ICT in academic libraries in India.

Summary

People are still using libraries, but the ways in which they are interacting with libraries is changing. While many library users are still visiting library buildings to borrow materials and use resources, there are a growing number of library users who prefer to use library services online on their personal devices. In order to successfully reach and interact with library users and provide library services online, librarians must be willing to adapt new and innovative technologies. The use of web-based tools and services such as blogs, wikis, RSS feeds, IM (online chat services), social media and social bookmarking combined with web discovery tools may help academic libraries to reach out to their users with next-generation library services. These technologies provide a new platform for reaching library users beyond the traditional library buildings and website by allowing students to access librarians and the library’s resources and services without leaving the comfort of the websites they use the most. The ultimate goal of librarians is to make library resources available to library users. Some of the roles of librarians in a web environment include: understanding and articulating the nature of SNSs, creating web pages and content, establishing a friendly user interface over the network, creating online database management, evaluating and applying information, and assisting users with skill acquisition. But librarians need the training and skills to search and navigate the web, create social network space, teach and provide quality online library services.

It is important to mention here that libraries spend a huge amount of money on the subscription of print and online resources, but it is obvious that users are not aware of the availability of resources and services which are available in the library, as well as how to search for the required information with the available resources. A web discovery tool/service must be implemented by libraries to provide access to both libraries’ local and remote content on a single search platform.

The findings of the study indicate that academic libraries in India have mostly been involved in applying ICT-based solutions for the management of various library functions and services, including computerisation of library catalogues, circulation systems, serial control, acquisitions and budget, access to in-house-developed library databases, access to electronic resources (e-books, e-journals, e-databases, etc.) and web-based reference services. Generally, most academic libraries in India are using ICT-based applications to organise and retrieve information. As the need for the delivery of information services within or outside a campus emerged, their involvement towards the development of intranets and institutional archives or digital libraries increased. Additionally, librarians are using traditional tools of knowledge transfer and sharing such as e-mail and teleconferencing. The reason for the extensive use of telephone calls may be due to the fact that these technologies have been available for decades and librarians are familiar with them. Use of these tools is often the employees’ first and instinctive reaction when looking for help or advice. However, video-conferencing, which is an effective interactive communication method, was not used much in practice, probably due to lack of sufficient funding. Modern ICT-based tools of knowledge creation, identification and sharing like web discovery tools, blogs, wikis, RSS feeds, social networking and social bookmarking are being used very commonly by libraries in developed countries (Tripathi and Kumar, 2010). It may be observed from a review of the literature that LIS professionals in India are aware of Web 2.0 and SNS and are active on SNS to socialise and keep themselves up to date, find jobs and acquire information about conferences and seminars in their respective fields (Bhardwaj, 2014; Tyagi, 2012), but their involvement at institutional level for promoting library services and communication with users is rare, as seen from the findings of the present study.

Although there is an indication of the use of various ICT-based communication and knowledge-sharing tools (such as intranets and institutional repositories, content management, etc.), academic libraries in India are still in the early stages of the implementation of these technologies. Some of the roles of librarians in an ICT environment include understanding and articulating the nature of social media, creating websites or blogs, establishing a friendly user interface over the network, and content management. Most academic libraries in India are struggling to incorporate modern ICT-based tools, resources and services due to inadequate skills and expertise of library staff. There is a need for the authorities to recruit multiskilled library staff familiar with the implementation of ICT-based tools, resources and services. As the development of ICT infrastructure depends on the availability of funds, lack of ICT infrastructure and lack of funds were identified as the major challenges of implementing ICT-based resources and services in an earlier study of academic libraries in Kerala (India) by Haneefa (2007). But during the past 10 years, libraries, particularly central university libraries in India, have received sufficient funds and assistance for the development of ICT infrastructure. That is why, although a lack of funding and lack of ICT infrastructure were still perceived as barriers to ICT use by the majority of the respondents, they have ranked them fourth and fifth respectively in the order of priority (Table 10.6).

It may be concluded that the level of application of ICT in Indian academic libraries is acceptable, but they should improve their status to match the ever-increasing demand for better library and information services by utilising the full potential of their knowledge resources. Academic libraries should renovate their existing library environments and develop knowledge and skills among their staff in the fields of computer programming, website or portal development, hardware maintenance, and metadata or e-resource management for handling ICT-based information systems and providing quality information services to their respected user community. They also need to develop skills of searching and navigating the web, creating social network space, teaching and providing quality online library services.

The posts which are lying vacant should be filled on an urgent basis. Librarians must recruit adequately trained staff to work with modern ICT-based information systems. It is essential for academic libraries to initiate training programmes in collaboration with the computer centres of the university, departments of LIS and library associations.

The present research is significant because it sheds light on the current level of adoption and use of modern ICT-based tools in library functions and services in the selected university libraries. Thus the findings of the study will help practicing librarians, policymakers, management, and the University Grants Commission of India to promote the use of different ICT-based information systems in academic libraries, to design courses of ICT, and to introduce training programmes for working staff. This research also has some limitations. As it surveyed only 15 university libraries, the sample may not accurately represent the whole population. For future research, a broad study should include more university libraries, as well as expanding the study to other types of libraries, to gain a broader perspective on the implementation of ICT.