Knowledge Management and Role of Library & Information Professionals in Indian Corporate Sector

Knowledge management (KM) is the process of transforming information and intellectual assets into enduring value. It connects people with the knowledge that they need to take action, when they need it. In the corporate sector, managing knowledge is considered key to achieving breakthrough competitive advantage (Kidwell et al., 2000). The purpose of this study is to explore the role of library and information professionals in India's knowledge-based corporate. This study is supposed to study new roles of librarians for maximising the value of knowledge in an intelligent organisation. The paper uses a sample comprising 10 private sector organisations. The extent of the role of a library professional in KM practices was evaluated to assess the current and potential future role in managing knowledge resources in corporate environment, to find the way the library and information professionals can contribute more to KM, study skills and competencies required for library and information professionals, challenges and problems of corporate KM, make recommendations that will promote library professionals as economic development partners and major KM roles in Indian corporate sector. The paper shows that the role of library professional in KM is favoured by the majority of corporate in India but they are also concerned about library professional's reliability, loyalty, commitment and willingness to stay in the job and better people management skills etc. Although this research presents strong evidence regarding the KM in the Indian corporate sector and role of library and information professionals, the results should be interpreted in light of the study's limitations as the study uses a sample of 10 private sector organisations where the findings may lack generalisation. The paper tries to bring forth concern areas for KM in the Indian private sector organisations and role of library and information professionals in it.