Sharing Organizational Knowledge through Knowledge Repositories

Abstract

Knowledge repositories are increasingly being viewed as a special form of knowledge management in organizational memory information systems (OMISs). Presented in this paper are the design concepts and guidelines for building a knowledge repository, and its practical implementation in the form of a prototype. The needs and the organizational and technical challenges associated with the undertaking of such a project are identified, and recommendations and strategies for overcoming the restrictions are discussed. In light of these repository-building guiding principles, the prototype of such a knowledge management system is envisaged to be a Web-based electronic repository of online pedagogical resources, built to help foster a learning organization that works together to gather and share knowledge. As per the design guidelines, information resources within this prototype are combined with user insights and experience in the form of associated annotations and then categorized within a subject tree to appear as knowledge to the repository users.