Ascertaining the place of library & information science in knowledge management research

In the past few years, many researchers and practitioners have shown the value of applying knowledge management (KM) in libraries and other information settings – so as to serve the patron better and to innovate services. However, it is unclear to what extent has mainstream KM literature embraced LIS research as a domain within KM. In this research, we seek to ascertain the place of the LIS field in KM journals by analysing what the top KM journals – as identified by Google Scholar – have published on LIS in the last two decades since the year 2000. We analysed the publication trends, and the distribution of these articles by LIS-related terms used, region/country and information setting type. We also identified the top-cited LIS articles from within these and their coverage in different journals and in different years. 83 LIS-related articles were found within the 4601 research articles published in top KM journals. Only 1.8% of the KM articles were LIS-related. By showing the relatively low coverage of LIS within KM research, the study demonstrates that LIS researchers/practitioners need to do more to be recognized as an important area within KM. KM journals can also enable greater synergies with LIS for mutual benefit. Copyright © 2018 by Association for Information Science and Technology