1 Role of Libraries in Knowledge Management Appasaheb. Naikal * Ramesh Paloti ** Knowledge is the most important asset of an organization. The better management of knowledge within an organization will lead to competitive advantage. Knowledge management is the constructive management of vital knowledge. KM aims to change the thoughts – ‘Knowledge is Power to Knowledge Sharing is Power’. Knowledge innovation through innovation in the theoretical, technical and organization management forms the core of KM. A successful KM program includes the generation, sharing, and utilization of Knowledge. Hence, libraries and librarians have a key role to play in KM. Librarians today should graduate from knowledge mediators to knowledge managers. They have to initiate new methods, and strategies of knowledge management to justify their role as knowledge managers. 0. Introduction No one doubts that better management of knowledge within the organization will lead to improved innovation and competitive advantage. Everyone agrees on the goal of better utilization of internal and external knowledge. The effective utilization of knowledge and learning requires both culture and technology. Explicit information and data can be easily codified, written down and stored in a database. For this type of business information we have the necessary skills and more than adequate tools, yet simple data is frequently not found where competitive advantage is found. In complex context sensitive knowledge which is difficult, if not often impossible to codify and store in ones and zeros. This core knowledge is found in individuals, communities of interest and their connections. Knowledge is the most important asset and greatest competitive advantage of many organizations of today. Simultaneously, it can be observed that many organizations realize it is highly problematic and complicated to collect, store retrieve, find, disseminate and reuse knowledge in a modern fast changing organization. In this context this paper aims at a conspectus of knowledge management (KM) and role of libraries in KM. 1. Meaning and Definitions: KM is the concept or a strategy of systematic and constructive management of vital knowledge and its associated processes of creating, gathering, organizing, diffusion, use and exploitation. It requires turning personal knowledge into corporate knowledge that can be widely shared throughout an organization and appropriately applied. Nick Willard says “KM is the development and facilitation of collaborative working, recognizing the interconnected nature of people. Processes and information in organizations that have become global, mobile communities.” (1) According to Gartner Group, 1999 “ KM is a discipline that promotes an integrated approach to the creation, capture, organization, access and use of an enterprise’s information assets. The assets include structured database, textual information such as policy and procedure documents and most importantly, the tacit knowledge and experiences resident in the head of the individual employees.” (2) *Asst. Librarian, Mahindra-British Telecom Ltd. Andheri-East, Mumbai Email: naikal@mahindrabt.com ** Librarian Fr. Agnel Technical Education Complex, Vashi, Navi Mumbai Email: ramesh_paloti@yahoo.com