Christine Quirion
Chief Operating Officer
Skilltype
Jackie Lorrainne
Associate Librarian for Planning, Operations, and Administrative Services
Washington University in St. Louis
The talent shortage facing libraries today encourages leaders to adopt new approaches to build skilled, diverse teams ready to face the urgent challenges and opportunities of a digital-first environment. This presentation will provide an overview of the complex digital skills landscape and examples of the data-informed strategies applied by the Washington University Libraries to build an empowered, engaged, and vibrant workforce. A leader from the University Libraries will share examples about how the organization incorporated Skilltype insights into the cultivation of internal talent, how growth opportunities were created through key assignments, and how the realignment of teams and positions were used to reflect current work with campus partners. The presentation will describe Washington University’s nascent and ongoing partnerships to create technology talent pipelines that attract, develop, and retain staff of color and to develop leaders who create and embody the organization’s values, climate, and culture. This session aims to help attendees gain a clear understanding of the digital skills ecosystem and the steps leaders can take to build skilled teams ready to translate rapidly evolving teaching and research needs into responsive, sustainable digital programs and services.