Knowledge management for collection development: Transforming institutional knowledge into tools for selectors

In an organization with a decentralized collection development structure, it can be difficult for selectors to find correct and detailed information at the point of need when engaging in collection development. Institutional knowledge is not always easily shared with others due to the lack of an effective conduit. Simply knowing what is happening and what has happened with purchases, licensing, vendor negotiations, budget planning, and policy creation can be a challenge for those who have not been directly involved. This presentation detailed the speaker’s experience in a new collections role at Penn State University Libraries, where she methodically gathered the information that exists on shared drives, in file cabinets, in dark corners of the intranet, and in the brains of faculty and staff that have worked at the library for many years, and then made it available to selectors in a meaningful way. The presentation discussed projects such as compiling information about annual e-book packages and e-journal backfiles, as well as Penn State University Libraries’ management of theses and dissertations. How those projects were identified and prioritized, as well as the process for compiling that information and making it available, was also discussed.