Knowledge, information, content management
Content Management
Content can broadly be understood as including both information and (storable) knowledge, where knowledge is also a form of recorded information that is contextualised. Content can be represented in various formats, such as images, animation, movies and print. There are three main components to content:
- what it relates to - a use through natural language or through a visual format;
- how it is organised in a logical manner, for example introduction, sections, conclusion; and,
- presentation, what the user sees and how ones views that content
Content management refers to a range of processes such as the packaging of content chunks, tracking of its use and reuse, formats used, and issues of localisation and internationalisation. The use of chunks of content for particular purposes relays on the knowledge and discovery of those chunks which is dependent on efffective organisation of content. Content management systems have been developed to tract and monitor changes made to content and maintain authenticity.
Current content management systems are designed with additional functionality such as display information under specified categories, enable the user to save search results, and provide inbuilt alert mechanisms.
Information Management
Information management is the organisation of information to enable effective resource discovery. Effective information management is dependent on standards. Such standards include thesauri, subject headings, information management schemes such as metadata, MARC, cataloguing rules and classification schemes. All these standards contribute to enable the description of resources/information in a consistent manner. It is through describing similar resources in a consistent manner that we achieve precision in search results.
Information management standards include things such as subject headings, taxonomies, and the protocols for their storage and retrieval. Information Management standards have probably been used ever since libraries were first established.
Knowledge Management
Knowledge Management is a multi-disciplined approach to achieving organisational objectives by making the best use of knowledge. It focuses on processes such as acquiring, creating and sharing knowledge and the culture and technical foundation that support those objectives.
Knowledge Management (KM) standards, however, are in process of being developed and can cover a wide range of practices. Typically, KM involves an alignment of organisational objectives with the knowledge processes such as acquisition, workflow, and sharing. It also involves technical and cultural processes.