BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA, February 28, 2022 — Skilltype, the talent management platform for libraries, is proud to welcome a cohort of HBCU libraries during Black History Month. Bethune-Cookman University Carl S. Swisher Library, The Fisk University John Hope and Aurelia E. Franklin Library, and Southern University John B. Cade Library have adopted Skilltype to enhance their investment into employee development. The libraries join Grambling University’s Digital Library and Learning Commons as the latest historically Black colleges and university (HBCU) libraries to modernize their approach to talent management.
Each library has created a Skilltype organization. These organizations automatically identify skill gaps. It also dynamically curates personalized training plans for each employee. These plans come from a database of over 8,000 on-demand library training resources. Through Skilltype, all employees initially gain equal visibility into the expertise the organization needs. This inclusivity applies regardless of their rank or status. Additionally, employees can clearly identify how their personal interests intersect with organizational needs. Employees can now make informed decisions about appropriate development opportunities at various career stages. Furthermore, as members of the HBCU Library Alliance, each library has the opportunity to share expertise. Skilltype specifically facilitates this inter-library communication to identify areas for stronger, more effective collaboration.
Voices from Leadership
“Cade Library is excited about its collaboration with Skilltype,” says Library Dean Dawn Kight. “I consider this collaboration an investment of the highest priority because it is an investment in our most valuable resource–the human resources. This platform will provide an environment for assessment as well as for skill development and exploration that is like no other platform on the market for libraries. The value is that Cade Library faculty and staff will learn, grow, and develop necessary skillsets for a fraction of the cost to attend, travel, and register for any training, workshop, or conference.“
“The HBCU library community has long led in areas that many organizations are still struggling to solve — namely diversity, equity, and inclusion in its recruitment practices,” says Skilltype CEO Tony Zanders. “Their growing adoption of Skilltype is a welcome vote of confidence in our unique approaches to creating more diverse, equitable, and inclusive library organizations.”
About Skilltype
Skilltype is an American software company headquartered in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Founded in 2018, the company offers talent management software for information professionals and their teams to analyze, develop and share expertise. Skilltype was funded by academic libraries in the United States, and has since developed a global community of learners and training providers across 12 countries.