The problem

Developing a comprehensive library training and development program that can advance the organization’s mission, vision, and local community context can be a complex endeavor for library and human resources leaders to meet organizational, staff, and community needs.  

Library service portfolios are both broad and deep. Consequently, many staff must provide high-quality information service across multiple areas and specialities. This encompasses managing archival or general collections, developing metadata, and partnering with instructors. Furthermore, a thorough understanding of subjects, data literacies, and more is essential. For specialist staff, enhancing their communication skills becomes pivotal. This is particularly crucial for fostering relationships with patrons or partners. On the other hand, service staff could greatly benefit from skill-building opportunities. This notably enhances their interactions with digital information and diverse user communities.

Library budgets for development and training seldom grow at the rate of inflation, and more staff need more types of training than ever before.

Many libraries have identified a broad range of ‘core competencies’ for specific roles or job families, yet few have the resources or tools to keep this information up to date systematically. As customer needs change, this competency information quickly becomes out of date. 

Access to training is often linked to travel and workshops available a few times per year on the conference calendar. This makes it difficult for organizations to fund training for everyone during budget constraints and inflation equitably.  

Few supervisors have the time or training to create customized learning plans for each staff member. As a result, many staff are left to find appropriate training opportunities. This is challenging, given the numerous events and webinars offered daily in the library community. Instead, the time that could be spent training is lost on searching for training.

The solution

With Skilltype, libraries can quickly identify key skills needed to meet the library’s mission, staff’s skills, and areas staff are interested in learning through Skilltype’s individual and library skill profiles. 

The standardized skills data from Skilltype lets libraries grasp their current skill set. This understanding aids in building detailed strategies for training and development. Additionally, they can promote reskilling into emerging priority areas. Furthermore, they can support cross-training initiatives. Establishing mentoring programs and in-house academies is another option. These programs aim to nurture new leaders. Standardized views provide insights into skills, products, and job categories. This clarity ensures staff members receive the most suitable development experience at the perfect time. 

Skilltype connects its standardized Skills Ontology to a global database of on-demand training resources. Skilltype delivers personalized training recommendations to staff weekly, tailored to staff interests and library needs. When staff have an hour for development, high-quality resources are waiting for them so they can spend their time training instead of searching. Any staff member can access professional development resources in their workday at any time new skills are needed. 

Staff who may not be able to travel for training due to the nature of their work or other factors have access to Skilltype’s centralized index of more than 10,000 library-focused on-demand training resources, enabling each staff member to learn in the flow of work. Skilltype allows your staff to share and index Training that addresses the skills libraries and their employees currently demand. These skills span circulation, data management, instruction, metadata, reference, or IT. The training sources include trusted library conferences and providers such as ACRL, the Charleston Conference, CNI, Library Juice Academy and more.

Libraries producing in-house training resources can link them to Skilltype’s standardized skills vocabulary. This allows these resources to be recommended to staff when needed, alongside Skilltype’s centralized training index, thereby enhancing the visibility of existing training materials.

Skilltype helps libraries offer customized training and development programs that invite all staff to engage and develop the skills critical to the organization’s future while also considering individuals’ prior experiences and career goals.