the PROBLEM

The service portfolios of libraries continue to grow as a result of emerging user and stakeholder needs. Few libraries can add new staff positions to meet new expectations. Current staff will need to develop new skills, and libraries will need to hire for new skill sets they don’t already have. Without understanding current staff skills and those of peer libraries, developing a reskilling or hiring strategy for a data-focused or AI-aware library becomes error-prone guesswork.

Library managers need access to skill data and efficiencies to coordinate work, guide staff to skill development, manage performance, and cultivate a healthy work culture. The library workforce is still recovering from a wave of retirements and resignations during the pandemic. Many libraries face backlogs of staff vacancies, interim assignments, morale issues, and failed searches that fall upon managers’ shoulders. This can also effect user and stakeholder needs.

the SOLUTION

With Skilltype, standardized skills data is always available for strategic planning or daily management decisions, stored securely, and automatically updated as new skills enter or leave your organization.  

When a library system recognizes emerging needs in an academic or public library’s user community, like Generative AI or heightened demand for datasets, they can locate these topics in the library-specific Skilltype’s Skills Ontology. This links them to individuals in the organization and training resources available through Skilltype.

When a library adds tags related to emerging user needs to its Skilltype profile, Skilltype identifies staff who might already possess the skill from previous workplaces. Additionally, it highlights staff interested in learning more about the topic. This allows the library to discover or cultivate expertise from within the organization using the Talent Audit.

Through the Talent Audit, library leaders can pinpoint over or under-represented skills among the staff. They can also identify opportunities to reallocate responsibilities or shift training budgets towards skill-building in emerging areas. Libraries may be able to identify opportunities to cross-train current staff into related areas to cover staff shortages as well, ensuring user and stakeholder needs are being met.