Keeping it an open book: exploring the knowledge sharing experience of librarians in the Philippines

Abstract

Purpose of this paper: This study is an attempt to explore the participation of librarians in the Philippines as knowledge generators and receptors in the domain of knowledge sharing. It aims to document the various intellectual outputs these librarians come up with, their discretion to share its contents, the modes they employ in sharing information and its extent of reach.

Theme: Based on the results of the study, librarians who co-generate new knowledge are gradually gaining recognition in the local setting. The proliferation of Web 2.0 technologies is a big factor that has afforded them a gateway of opportunity to share their knowledge assets, collaborate and interact with other scholars at close-to-personal experience.

Design/methodology/approach: Using knowledge sharing as the central theme of the study, an online questionnaire was devised as instrument. It was designed such that it will identify how far they have gone in terms of putting out creative outputs, in making the contents of their works open to the knowledge society, the benefits gleaned from such an experience and their motivation to participate in the process. It was also designed to capture those who have yet to join in the realm of knowledge sharing and explore their thoughts about the process. The purposive sampling method was used for this study.

Findings: Librarians were surveyed across the country to examine their knowledge sharing initiatives. Significant findings reveal that sixty-six percent of the respondents are active...