The Role of Libraries and Librarians in Designing and Creating an Organizational Knowledge Repository

Purpose:This study aims to examine the role of an organizational knowledge repository in managing and disseminating the scientific findings of the academic community. The research results indicate that the design and creation of these repositories are the outcomes of collaborative efforts among various departments within an organization. University library staff can play a crucial role in fostering communication with faculty members and, through their collaboration, create new opportunities for knowledge production. They, along with computer and software specialists and managers of organizational knowledge repositories, can be responsible for designing, evaluating, and maintaining the output processes for digital collections. For this reason, one of the primary tasks and responsibilities of librarians in academic libraries is knowledge management, particularly the establishment and administration of an academic organizational knowledge repository. In this context, the purpose of the current study is to examine the role of academic libraries in the design and development of an organizational knowledge repository.
Method:The method employed in this research is the library or documentary method. Initially, the study reviews existing research on organizational knowledge repositories, followed by a discussion of their definition and the necessity of their establishment in universities. Furthermore, the role of libraries and university librarians is examined as a new function in the creation and expansion of organizational knowledge repositories, in alignment with the research objectives.
Findings: University libraries play a crucial role in knowledge and information management due to their expertise in organizing information, utilizing metadata, and their familiarity with copyright and open access licenses. University librarians, due to their direct connections with knowledge production sources within universities—such as professors, students, and researchers—can play a fundamental role in encouraging authors to submit their materials to knowledge repositories. On the other hand, by enhancing the university's brand among specialists and increasing the visibility of research works, they can significantly boost the citation rate and impact factor of these works. This is a key achievement of establishing an organizational knowledge repository, and they can play a fundamental role in this process. In addition, close interaction between academic librarians and library users—particularly researchers, professors, and students—during the information search process will facilitate the transfer of information to the knowledge repository.
Conclusion:In conclusion, the experiences of academic librarians in navigating and utilizing a diverse array of databases can significantly enhance the design of user interfaces for organizational knowledge repository software. Additionally, these experiences can inform the training of researchers on how to upload their work to the repository and efficiently search for and retrieve information. Although many academics and researchers are often reluctant to submit their work to organizational knowledge repositories, it is essential to thoroughly investigate the underlying reasons for this non-participation. Additionally, establishing effective communication with university officials is crucial to create a supportive environment for the development of these scientific repositories. The establishment of these repositories will enhance access to knowledge generated by the country's universities and provide a solid foundation for organizational knowledge repositories in universities nationwide.