Making tacit knowledge explicit: the Ready Reference Database as codified knowledge

Abstract

This article describes the process of knowledge transformation (from tacit to explicit to codified knowledge) in organizations. The article proposes that much of the knowledge held by reference librarians is tacit knowledge that needs to be made explicit and formalized. The Web-based Ready Reference Database at San Diego State University is analyzed as an example of the process of knowledge conversion in library reference services. © 2004, Emerald Group Publishing Limited