Identification of the infrastructures and mechanisms of documentation of experiences and knowledge in Iranian university libraries

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this study is to identify and analyze the viewpoints of the Iranian university library managers on documentation of experiences and knowledge in order to identify necessary infrastructures and mechanisms for documentation of experience and knowledge in Iranian academic libraries.Methods: This research is applied, based on descriptive-analytical method. Data gathering tool was a researcher-made questionnaire that make based on literature review and confirmed its validity by experts. The questionnaire was distributed among 88 managers of the central libraries under study. Findings: Findings of research indicated that in view of managers under study, 5 infrastructures and factors are necessary for documentation of experiences and knowledge in academic libraries, which are, in order of priority: structural, cultural, legal, technological and behavioral. Transfer of experiences to successor employees before retirement, being liable to having intellectual rights as experienced managers, creation of a documentary handbook of important experiences and actions taken in library, and publishing documented experiences in journals and or books were identified to development and improvement of documentation.Originality: According to previous studies, this research to identify the necessary infrastructures in documentation of experience and knowledge for the first time. Also, the findings of this study could be starting point for documentation in the context of libraries and model is for other libraries and information centers.

Keywords

• documentation
• experience
• knowledge
• university libraries
• managers