Harvard Unveils Web Tool for Studying Media Trends

Harvard Unveils Web Tool for Studying Media Trends: The Chronicle of Higher Education

"There’s a lot of debate over the state of the news media these days, but a team of researchers at Harvard Law School’s Berkman Center for Internet and Society is trying to make discussions of content and bias a bit more precise."

"This morning, the Berkman Center unveiled Media Cloud, a research tool that designers say will help researchers study news-media trends with a level of quantitative precision previously unavailable. Powered by software that automatically identifies various elements — such as people, places, and topics — contained within an article, Media Cloud allows users to query a database of online content from more than 1,500 blogs and traditional publications."

Capture, store, and share information - Sounds old rhyme, right?

But now this story is getting newer interface (call it interface 2.0). Thanks to Martha for sharing the info about the Living Library!!! I Googled to see true colors of the LL, and found the following:

Living library idea as a knowledge managment tool
by Shaunna Mireau on October 30th, 2008
A recent article in Library Journal caught my eye: “Living Library” Debuts in Santa Monica1 As the article explains the living library movement invites library users to ‘book’ meetings with individuals with special interests, beliefs or experiences.

Extract: Wouldn’t it be interesting to add information to the library catalog with the following model:

Title: Vicarious liability
Author: Partner X
Physical Description: 6′1″, folio [individual will come to your office or lunch for a discussion of the title topic].

Seriously though, there are many ways to formalize tacit knowledge transfer that already happens in informal ways. It is neat that this kind of tacit transfer is being encouraged by public libraries. If a public library can work with this model, our expertise filled organizations can too.continue reading

See also on the same shelf:

• LIVING LIBRARIES, Experience that speaks volumes, Toronto Star Feb 26, 2009
  
• Doing the Library Thing by Wendy Reynolds March 1, 2009
• Living Libraries in Canada in March
  March 5-6th, University of Guelph, Ontario
  March 5th, Coquitlam Public Library, British Columbia
  March 21st, Calgary Public Library, Ontario
  March 23-27th, University of Alberta, Augustana, Alberta

Sharing Tacit Knowledge: A Case Study in the Australian Film Industry

Tacit Knowledge
“Explicit” or codified knowledge refers to knowledge that is transmittable in formal, systematic language. On the other hand, “tacit” knowledge has a personal quality, which makes it hard to formalize and communicate. Tacit knowledge is deeply rooted in action, commitment, and involvement in a specific context (Nonaka, 1994, p. 16)

Irit Alony and Greg Whymark, Central Queensland University, Rockhampton, Australia and Michael Jones, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, Australia Informing Science Journal Volume 10, 2007

Abstract:

This paper explores tacit knowledge sharing. This case demonstrates the significance of knowledge sharing to organizational performance, by exploring the contribution of tacit knowledge sharing to the success of projects in the Australian Film Industry (AFI). The differences between knowledge sharing, collaboration and communication, and their interrelations are addressed. We also explore the concepts of knowledge, information, and data. In the interchanges reported here the knowledge shared is almost entirely tacit, and the “raw” data and information do not exist without the context that makes them knowledge. The paper includes the identification of many factors affecting knowledge sharing, not all of which have been identified by previous researchers.

This research contributes to a better understanding of tacit knowledge and how that knowledge is shared. This in turn contributes to a better understanding of how knowledge management can be supported in a modern organization, where often the technology is used in ways not well understood by system managers and software developers. A better understanding can lead to better ICT design and support of knowledge sharing both within and across organizations.

Keywords: Knowledge Sharing, Film Industry, Tacit Knowledge, Qualitative, Collaboration.
See also on the same shelf:

The Future of the Future: Rise of the Knowledge Librarian

AIIM > Infonomics Magazine > KM World (02/02/09) Murray, Art and Wheaton, Ken

"Both the private and public sectors have been steadily downsizing and closing their physical libraries. All those serials and monographs, outdated by the time they arrived from the printers, are simply not that competitive anymore."

Extract: Delivering knowledge vs. information
"Corporate librarians used to devote years acquiring and cataloging physical document collections. All those serials and monographs, outdated by the time they arrived from the printers, are simply not that competitive anymore. Knowledge is not static. It must be continually refreshed through venues such as open discussion and brainstorming. That calls for a new kind of library."

"...Unfortunately, there have been casualties. Librarians are being jettisoned along with the bookcases. We need to reverse that trend and start bringing them back … but only the ones who are willing to change. A traditional corporate librarian must make three major shifts in roles begin the transition to a knowledge librarian."

• Role shift #1: A knowledge librarian should be the "content czar" of the enterprise.
• Role shift #2: A knowledge librarian understands the strategic information needs of the enterprise.
• Role shift #3: A knowledge librarian is a lead agent of change.

“The librarian of the future is uniquely positioned to be at the center of the creation and alignment of intellectual assets across the enterprise. That leads to improved innovation and business performance on a sustained basis. Maybe the time will soon come when we will see librarians as CKOs.” continue reading

The medieval monastery as metaphor ~~ Designing space for knowledge work

"The new Cass Business School building in the City of London, designed by Bennetts Associates, draws on best practice in workspace design, with a strong emphasis on innovation and experimentation before and during the design process. This included academic research on historical learning spaces. The medieval monastery, and particularly the cloister, was identified as a type of space designed specifically for the creation and sharing of knowledge. One of the Cass library spaces features a broad cloister-like corridor, with semi-public study areas and places for private reflection and conversation. The whole design reflects transparency — seeing and being seen." continue reading

See also:

Return-on-Investment in library practice

Many wonder how to account for a place, such as a library, where "what goes into a library isn’t what comes out," to use Andrew L. Pearson's expression.
Here is a book in hand, thanks to Steven Bell, for identifying such an important title: Library Assessment in Higher Education--particularly chapter 5 on assessment of the library's contribution to the educational process.

Question: How do you see the ROI in your library / information practice? Will highly appreciate your response on this subject.

See also:
The Library as Strategic Investment: Results of the Illinois Return on Investment Study, Paula T. Kaufman, University Librarian and Dean of Libraries, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign