RLUK’s Digital Shift Forum brings together colleagues from across the information, research, cultural and heritage communities, and third and commercial sectors, to discuss the future of the digital shift in collections, services, and audiences.
The series aims to promote cross-sector discussion and debate, to enable knowledge exchange, and inspire collaborative endeavour across sectors and communities, for the benefit of RLUK members and the wider research and information management communities.
The Digital Shift Forum is open to all, and you do not need to belong to an RLUK member institution to attend or participate.
Future-proofing the Research Library: Designing Talent Strategy for 2030 and Beyond –
Tony Zanders, Founder and CEO, Skilltype
29 September 2021, 14:00 – 15:00
In a matter of weeks, the COVID-19 pandemic made the handbook for operating research libraries obsolete. Austerity measures, coupled with sudden demand for specialised skills, placed talent strategy under a microscope as organisations worked to provide service continuity. The result was not a mere reshuffling of existing personnel, but a radical rethinking of library services in a digital-first scholarly experience. Join award-winning software entrepreneur and library technology executive Tony Zanders to discuss the state of library talent management in the fourth industrial revolution. Attendees will receive an international scan of the key movements, challenges, and opportunities leaders are witnessing within the skills landscape. Observations on how our workforce is changing, and how it needs to change further will be shared. The presentation will be followed with an open discussion moderated by Jane Harvell, University Librarian and Director of Library Services, University of Sussex.
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Tony Zanders is an award-winning software entrepreneur and library technology executive, currently serving as the founder and CEO of Skilltype — a software platform for information professionals and their teams to analyze, develop, and share expertise. Prior to Skilltype, Zanders served as the inaugural entrepreneur-in-residence at the Boston University Libraries, advised the senior leadership team on talent and the future of work. For nine years, he held executive roles at EBSCO and Ex Libris, where he consulted library leaders across six continents on technology strategy.
Tony is a frequent speaker and writer in library and higher education communities. Zanders is an honors graduate from Washington and Jefferson College, where he double majored in English and Philosophy, and was awarded the college’s Young Alumni Award in 2015. A proud native of New Orleans, Louisiana, he currently lives in Louisiana with his wife and children.