knowledgethings

Knowledgethings is a term used to describe the collective material and symbolic artifacts that carry knowledge or enable its production. It encompasses physical objects such as books, notebooks, laboratory instruments, maps, and specimens, as well as digital objects like datasets, software, repositories, and online platforms. It also includes institutions and infrastructures that curate, preserve, or transmit knowledge, including libraries, archives, museums, schools, universities, and research centers. The concept emphasizes the interface between knowledge and its material supports and social pathways of dissemination.

Knowledgethings is a neo-formation combining knowledge with things. It is not a widely standardized term, but it appears in discussions of information infrastructure, knowledge management, and epistemology to highlight that knowledge resides not only in minds but also in objects, systems, and practices.

Examples of knowledgethings range from printed volumes and lab notebooks to sensor networks, data catalogs, ontologies, standards, curricula, and tacit protocols. They include both tangible artifacts and organized structures that enable creation, verification, storage, and transfer of knowledge.

The concept is significant for understanding how knowledge endures and becomes accessible across generations and geographies. Related concerns include accessibility, digital preservation, metadata quality, and biases in what is collected or prioritized. Analyzing knowledgethings helps illuminate the material conditions that shape knowledge production and dissemination.