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 producers of explicit and implicit knowledge, out of which, seventy-one percent are open to the knowledge sharing process. Interestingly, the thirty-four percent who responded as not active in knowledge generation, collection and sharing has signified their openness to the process.

Research limitations/implications: With the librarians becoming aware that they can blend into the scholarly society as producers of knowledge assets, this study endeavors to encourage those undertaking research to dive deeper into scholarly and knowledge exchange, especially that the Internet is now being eyed as a publishing hub.

Practical implications: As the library profession moves forward, this paper could be used as a source document by information professionals in the country to evaluate their transcending role of being custodians of knowledge and custodians imparting knowledge. The results of this study may influence active participation in the generation of new knowledge among librarians to increase their visibility in the larger scientific community.

What is original/value of paper: This exploratory study is seen as a key contribution to the curbing of the knowledge sharing practice among librarians. This may also essentially serve as a springboard to more in depth studies on the various aspects of the knowledge culture in Philippine librarianship.