I grew up in a house where everyone was constantly busy doing something physical. Whether it was housework, gardening or sport, my parents and siblings seemed to be in a state of perpetual motion. I, on the other hand, could think of nothing better than to sit and read everything and anything.

With very little critical input, this often led to literary choices which were embarrassingly cliched. On the upside, I had the chance to explore ideas in books that a more well-read parent might have banned from my repertoire.

Anyway, my penchant for reading inevitably influenced in my choice of career. I ended up working in a law library (and wondering how I would ever afford to travel and see the world on the measly salary most librarians earn!)

Years later, after I had learnt to use a computer (there weren't any when I started working) and made my initial foray into cyberspace, I became conscious of the concept of "knowledge management".

I hate when people ask me what this means, and prefer to let them go someplace like the Wikipedia, where a reasonably good definition exists.

Anyway, I hate splitting hairs over definitions, it's like arguing about what a religion is about, when it has a different meaning for each of us. I can't be bothered with polemics , fundamentalism or reductionist thinking, generally.

All I can say is that I love what I do. I love helping people find useful information that makes their work easier and improves the decisions that get made.

Sometimes, I get to see this happen but there are many times when the information doesn't suit a particular agenda and egos get in the way of a positive outcome. This is when I lose hope for humanity and wonder if we'll ever really change the world into a better place for everyone.

Still, at least at some level, I believe in what I do. I still get a kick out of finding some small nugget of knowledge that changes someone's view of their world.

Technorati tags: knowledge management; librarian; internet; information management

¶ 8:39 AM