Taxonomies are often thought to play a niche role within content-oriented knowledge management projects. They are thought to be ‘nice to have’ but not essential. In this ground-breaking book, Patrick Lambe shows how they play an integral role in helping organizations coordinate and communicate effectively. Through a series of case studies, he demonstrates the range of ways in which taxonomies can help organizations to leverage and articulate their knowledge. A step-by-step guide in the book to running a taxonomy project is full of practical advice for knowledge managers and business owners alike.
Patrick Lambe is the author of the widely-praised book Organising Knowledge: Taxonomies, Knowledge and Organisational Effectiveness (Chandos: 2007) and co-author with Nick Milton of The Knowledge Managers Handbook: a step by step guide to implementing KM in your organization 2nd edn (Kogan Page: 2019), which was awarded the 2019 CILIP K&IM Information Resources Prize in the Print Category.
Based in Ireland and Singapore, he is the founder of knowledge management research and consulting firm Straits Knowledge, founding President of the International Society for Knowledge Organization Singapore Chapter, Visiting Professor at Bangkok University, and a member of the Editorial Advisory Board of the Journal of Knowledge Management. Patrick was educated at Oxford, did his Master's in Librarianship and Information Studies at the University of London, and has worked for the past four decades in librarianship, learning and development, elearning and knowledge management. He is a widely respected keynote speaker and writer on knowledge and information management issues, and his blog is at www.greenchameleon.com. His new book Principles of Knowledge Auditing: Foundations for KM Implementation will be published by MIT Press in May 2023.
Whether about army structure, child abuse, or health care, this book was never boring. Patrick Lambe brought in great examples and made taxonomies relevant and exciting.
A very detailed introduction to taxonomy. I'd liked to have finished it, but the material was very dense and a tough read. A little bit of humor may have enabled me to finish it. Otherwise, it was too dry to finish.
While the contents are useful, many parts are not necessarily part of the "organising knowledge" concept, making it feel somewhat slow for non taxonomist trying to gain some tools for their daily work.