BATON ROUGE, LA, July 5, 2022 — LOUIS: The Louisiana Library Network (LOUIS), a statewide program of the Louisiana Board of Regents, is pioneering innovative collaboration opportunities of its 48 academic and research libraries by implementing a pilot with talent management platform Skilltype.

With Skilltype, LOUIS will be able to analyze skill gaps and share expertise statewide for the first time, facilitating shared services and creating new opportunities for collaboration within the consortium. 

Laurie Blandino, Executive Director and Associate Commissioner at LOUIS, commented, “LOUIS member libraries recognize that professional development is essential to achieving their potential. Louisiana librarians and support staff have diverse learning needs, and Skilltype is an invaluable tool for identifying resources and expertise that meet those needs. As LOUIS member libraries evolve to provide new services such as open education resources and digital literacy education, Skilltype will connect us with the resources and training we need to succeed.”

“Bringing Skilltype to LOUIS is an exciting development,” notes David Banush, Dean of Libraries and Academic Information Resources at Tulane University.  “The true power of the Skilltype platform lies in scale: highlighting available skills, identifying required needs, providing opportunity for growth, and collaborating to enhance capacity across Louisiana will allow all members of LOUIS to meet user needs more effectively.  LOUIS and Skilltype are natural partners.”

“Skilltype empowers the staff to explore and see themselves in other areas as we move into the next realm of providing Academic library services,” says Adrienne Webber, Dean of the Digital Library at Grambling State University. “We are excited colleagues across the consortium will now have access to this new approach to increasing our organizational capacity.”  

Skilltype also allows LOUIS to access existing EBSCO and other product training content within its platform for improved adoption in a single experience. With this, LOUIS members can get a comprehensive view of training progress and be able to identify and deliver relevant programs to the specific employee that needs it. This same opportunity for directed training exists for the professional development video sessions and slide deck presentations of LUC, the annual LOUIS Users Conference. 

“Looking beyond the pandemic, libraries are seeking novel approaches to finding the expertise required by established and emerging responsibilities,” comments Tony Zanders, Founder and CEO at Skilltype. “LOUIS adopting Skilltype to provide low-hanging fruit collaboration opportunities to its members is a glimpse of the future of work in libraries.” 

LOUIS is a library consortium widely recognized as a model for cost-effective collaboration in higher education. Members include Tulane University, Southern University, and Grambling University, already customers of Skilltype. 

To explore how data can help improve employee engagement and organizational development, visit skilltype.com and request a demo for your library, state, or consortium.

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About Skilltype

Skilltype is a library software company specializing in using data to create modern talent management workflows. Libraries across six countries use Skilltype to provide personalized training to their employees, identify skill gaps, and make data-informed decisions on whether to recruit, reskill, or share expertise. Skilltype was founded in 2018 and is headquartered in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

About LOUIS

LOUIS is a consortium of 48 public and private college and university member libraries in the state of Louisiana. This partnership was formed in 1992 by the library deans and directors at these institutions, in order to create a cost-effective collaboration among the institutions for the procurement of library technology and resources.