Strategic Thinking: The 10 Hot Topics in Library Management

Author: Wu Jianzhong
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-01-01
Features: Providing users with efficient and high-quality services remains the purpose of modern libraries and an eternal theme. The fundamental goal of knowledge management implementation in libraries is also to better meet users' various needs for information and knowledge in the knowledge economy era and the network information environment. Research on knowledge management services in libraries mainly includes two parts: one is the innovation of library services through knowledge management, and the other is knowledge services.
1. Innovation of Knowledge Management in Library Services
The innovation of knowledge management in library services is primarily reflected in using the concept of knowledge management to guide library service practices. This requires focusing on user information feedback and analysis in service strategies, adhering to a "user-centered" service orientation. In the past, libraries often paid more attention to information objects (collections) rather than information users (readers), i.e., they conducted services centered on collections. Today, faced with the diversification and decentralization of information resources and user needs, libraries are pushed into a competitive information market. Only by being user-centered, closely integrating information users, information resources, and information technology, and determining service orientation based on user needs can libraries win the competition; otherwise, they will face the severe situation of user attrition.
Adhering to a "user-centered" approach requires in-depth research into user information needs, establishing well-organized user information feedback channels, and developing scientific, feasible, and systematic evaluation indicators. Continuously collecting and analyzing user data, and conducting comparative research on multiple aspects—such as user structure, reading tendencies, the quantity and proportion of different groups, the frequency and methods of library usage, the levels and satisfaction of service needs, and potential future developments—can objectively and accurately reflect and evaluate the status and efficiency of the library's service operations. This helps identify areas and projects that need improvement, allowing for targeted adjustments in service strategies to retain existing users, attract potential users, and expand the scope, depth, and vitality of library services.
Secondly, it requires strengthening the knowledge aspect in service content. In an increasingly competitive social environment, libraries must not only shift their service concepts but also emphasize intellectual participation, gathering the wisdom of librarians into teams, and increasing the knowledge element in services to make them a process of discovering and nurturing new ideas and thinking, thereby achieving value-added services. This involves both deepening the content of services by focusing on increasing knowledge content and implementing "knowledge mining," and broadening the content of services by covering as wide a range of knowledge as possible and implementing "knowledge navigation."
Lastly, it requires innovating service models. Libraries should adopt modern technology to improve service methods and utilize rich literature and information resources to carry out high-level service projects. In addition to providing services such as information retrieval, interlibrary loan, and reference consultation, libraries should also offer the following information services:
- Network information navigation, which involves researching, filtering, and categorizing network information to integrate large amounts of scattered information on the same professional or thematic topics and establishing a professional information resource guide database.
- Value-added information services, which involve collecting relevant information based on user needs, conducting systematic comprehensive analysis, and then refining and processing it to generate high-value-added information products such as "reviews," "evaluations," "research reports," and "databases."