1. ¹School of Information Systems, Technology and Management, UNSW, Sydney, Australia
2. ²Ferdowsi University of Mashad, Iran

Correspondence: Farhad Daneshgar, School of Information Systems, Technology and Management, UNSW, Sydney NSW 2052, Australia. Tel: +61(2)93854241; Fax: +61(2)96624061; E-mail: f.daneshgar@unsw.edu.au

Received 4 February 2006; Accepted 18 January 2007.

Abstract

This article introduces a formal methodology for deriving conceptual knowledge schema for today's academic libraries. This knowledge schema is defined in the form of a set of knowledge structures and their relationships, and with the purpose of identifying organisational learning requirements. These schemas will then form basis for an organisational knowledge base that assists collaborating librarians to identify appropriate links to relevant knowledge sources within the context of the tasks that they perform. The article demonstrates that the proposed schema when used in conjunction with a specialised knowledge map called the Awareness Net will constitute a suitable conceptual framework for identifying knowledge sharing and organisational learning requirements in today's university libraries.