Analysis Framework of Public Library as Knowledge Center

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Abstract The recent advance of information and communication technologies has made the identity of public libraries ambiguous. Few literatures have dealt with a local community public library from knowledge creation perspective. In this article we extend the applicability of the concepts such as knowledge management and knowledge city to local public libraries whose major role needs to change from the traditional book rental to knowledge and social capital creating entity. Based on the concepts, we propose a framework for analyzing the public library as a center of knowledge creation. Using the framework, we analyze the Ridgewood Public Library in New Jersey to test the validity of the framework. Key Words : Public Library, Knowledge Creation Process, Social Capital, Knowledge City, Knowledge Management 본 연구는 2012년도 한남대학교 교비연구비의 지원으로 수행되었음. * 한남대학교 경영정보학과 교수논문접수: 2013년 1월 1일, 1차 수정을 거쳐, 심사완료: 2013년 1월 21일 1. Introduction The sustainability of a community can be defined as a town where the viability of economic, cultural, educational, and civic conditions is consistent in the future ahead so that the community survives for a long time. We live in a period where only uncertainty is certain. Strong community social capital and knowledge resources are the vital sources of the survival and sustainable growth. Traditionally a local public library has been considered as a horsepower of community knowledge. Thus it is natural for us to believe that a local public library plays an important role for achieving the sustainability. A local public library has served its community residents for long time as a major source of information diffusion through analog type of book and learning center. Since digital contents and the Internet and information and communication technology (ICT) have penetrated into our daily lives, information search is extended to a global scale and the contents delivery becomes an instant phenomenon, which reduced the need to visit the local library that had been available only there. Moreover, the escalating costs of managing the library threaten the traditional mission of libraries to create and sustain large, self-sufficient collections