We discuss a framework for knowledge management based on ontological techniques. The central notion we study, called knowledge object, is provided as a first attempt to provide a new approach to model the relationship between the material, the information and the organization's perspectives. The paper comprises two parts. In the first part it gives an introduction to knowledge objects, their elements and some basic properties. In the second part, it shows how knowledge objects help in understanding and clarifying knowledge creation and evolution in the scenario of a veterinary public health institute, namely the Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie (IZSVE).