Librarianship will never be the same. Patrons can now access our collections from anywhere at anytime. Open access is no longer fringe as the big deal is dismantled. Publishers are beginning to align with our values. We are recognizing our discriminatory past. More people are acknowledging their biases with a desire for change. We have collaborations across states, regions and countries more than ever before. Our software is moving to the cloud and our technology is more open than ever. Despite these promising signs for the future, the way we build, find and share talent is stuck in the past.

Pre-COVID going to a conference was still the most popular way to gain new skills. Launching a job search was the dominant method to add expertise to our team. Our collaborations were still focused on content and systems. We’ve since seen our budgets cut and our hiring frozen. We see our our large gatherings cancelled and our travel prohibited. Our workshops and gatherings moved online. When the dust settles, we will need a new paradigm for understanding what expertise we need to serve our rapidly-changing organizations, and how to get it.

The Skilltype team taking a casual photo outside of the Ogden Museum of Art in Downtown New Orleans.

To this end, we have assembled an all-star team from world-class companies including Amazon, EBSCO, Salesforce and Workday, and non-profits such as ALA and ARL. Over the past two years, we’ve partnered with over a dozen libraries and associations, along with 400 information professionals on a new product that is radically reimagining how we analyze, grow, and share our expertise in libraries. Here’s how it works.

Add skills to your profile on Skilltype using our TagPicker.

Describe yourself. 

It all starts with a clean slate description of who you are, what you’re capable of, and what you want to learn. Not what credentials you’ve earned or where you’ve studied and worked; but what you can do and want to learn to do. Our first-of-its-kind Skills API offers over 800 options to capture what makes you unique.

Explore resources. 

Skilltype then uses this metadata to personalize your experience. Rather than searching the web or social media for the right resource or opportunity, spend your limited time growing instead of browsing. Your favorite conferences, skills, products and services finally all in one place.

Browse resources and opportunities based on your skills and interests using a Topic Feed.

Connect with organizations.

Skilltype is not a social network, but you can join specific organizations to share your expertise and learn from. By sharing your data, you get access to exclusive resources and opportunities.

Rinse and repeat.

Continue refining your interests as they change over time. Add new skills as you develop them. New resources and opportunities are added everyday. Share what you’ve found on social media.

We’ve only just begun to prepare the information profession for the future. If you want to be a part of the journey in any way, sign up for early access today at skilltype.com or drop us a note on Twitter @skilltype.