[01] Chioma Euriel Uzohue, Chief Librarian, Nigerian Institute of Medical Research, Yaba, Nigeria. [02] Japheth Abdulazeez Yaya, Seminary Librarian, Nigerian Baptist Theological Seminary, Ogbomoso, Nigeria.

This paper discusses knowledge management competencies required for library and information professionals in 21st century Nigerian libraries. The advent of internet and related technological development has transformed and influenced library practices. There is a vast amount of knowledge in various areas and its management is very vital in the provision of quality information services, making effective decisions, improving the overall performance of the employee and becoming more relevant to their parent organization. The paper gives an overview of the emerging field of Knowledge Management (KM) and the competencies required by information professionals in the KM practices in 21^st century Nigerian libraries. It goes further to discuss the concept of KM, examines the roles of library and for successful KM application and what determines a 21^st century library. It concludes that in Nigerian libraries, with the exponential growth of human knowledge in a variety of format, librarians should be prepared to meet the information needs of their numerous users, locate and develop useful websites and knowledge based sources for their clients. Also, libraries should develop means to capture all the tacit knowledge that is embedded in people’s skills and competencies as well as the explicit knowledge found in the working processes of information professionals in the libraries.

Knowledge Management, Knowledge Competencies, Library Professionals, Information Professionals, Nigerian Libraries

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