Gale Launches New Online Learning Platform for Public Libraries
PLA Conference, NASHVILLE, Tenn. – February 26, 2020 – Gale, a Cengage company, today announced the launch of Gale Presents: Udemy, a new online learning platform for public libraries – powered by Udemy for Business – that provides patrons access to over 4,000 high-quality, on-demand video courses taught by world-class instructors across more than 75 categories. Now libraries can provide patrons with a personalized learning experience to gain the skills they need to compete in today’s economy.
As the employment landscape continuously changes, workers are being tasked to learn new technologies and skills to stay competitive. Studies show that on average, workers change jobs 12 times in their lifetime, making it essential for libraries to offer services that help adults build new skills that align with industry trends and to prepare for the shift toward workforce automation. Gale Presents: Udemy empowers users to keep up with these demands, providing career development and upskilling opportunities in areas such as business, tech, design and more to enable professional and personal success.
“We partnered with Udemy because we have a shared belief in the power and joy of learning. Our mission for public libraries is to expand their role within the communities they serve by supporting their commitment to lifelong learning and workforce development,” said Paul Gazzolo, senior vice president and general manager at Gale. “Gale Presents: Udemy helps achieve this by providing self-paced, personalized learning opportunities that help libraries transform lives.”
With a library card, along with a Google or Microsoft account at participating public libraries, patrons can access thousands of online courses as well as select instructors and content that best match their skills needs and learning preferences. Users can filter search results by course features, competency level, duration, topic and ratings, enabling them to pave their own learning journey. When courses are completed, users receive a certificate of course completion.
“Libraries have always been centers for lifelong learning and personal and professional development, which is core to our mission at Udemy,” said Darren Shimkus, president of Udemy for Business. “We’re thrilled to partner with Gale to offer fresh content on relevant and cutting-edge topics, and arm patrons with the skills required in today’s workplace and beyond.”
Gale Presents: Udemy provides:
- Unlimited, On-Demand Access to 4,000+ Curated Courses Across More Than 75 Categories: access to high-quality, in-demand content covering technical and business skills.
- Curated Collection of Courses from the Udemy.com Marketplace: gives users access to the latest courses on top trending and relevant skills, helping them achieve success at work and in life.
- Up-to-Date Courses: provides the most current and relevant content available on the market. Courses are updated or replaced monthly with new material on emerging topics, ensuring learners are developing skills in the most relevant, in-demand areas.
- World-Class Instructors: users are taught by leading experts who are world-class thought leaders, subject matter experts, bestselling authors and award-winning professors who are working and making advancements in their fields.
- Smart Recommendations: gives users course suggestions based on previous interactions with the platform.
- Supplemental Course Resources: helps reinforce learning and put newly learned skills into practice. More than 60% of courses in Gale Presents: Udemy include assignments, quizzes, practice tests and coding exercises. Additionally, 90% of the courses offer subtitles and/or transcripts for video lectures to support a variety of learning styles.
- Anytime, Anywhere Access: with the iOS and Android apps, users can download courses to view offline, listen with podcast-style audio and watch using Chromecast or Apple TV.
Gale will showcase Gale Presents: Udemy at the Public Library Association (PLA) Conference, February 26-28 in Nashville, TN at Gale booth #712.
For more information or to request a trial, visit the Gale Presents: Udemy webpage.
About Cengage and Gale
Cengage is the education and technology company built for learners. The company serves the higher education, K-12, professional, library and workforce training markets worldwide. Gale, a Cengage company, provides libraries with original and curated content, as well as modern research tools and technology that are crucial in connecting libraries to learning, and learners to libraries. For more than 60 years, Gale has partnered with libraries around the world to empower the discovery of knowledge and insights – where, when and how people need it. Gale has 500 employees globally with its main operations in Farmington Hills, Michigan. For more information, please visit www.gale.com.
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Media Contact:
Kayla Siefker, Gale, a Cengage company, 248-915-9624, [email protected]
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[i] Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor, “Number of Jobs, Labor Market Experience, and Earnings Growth: Results from a National Longitudinal Survey,” news release no. USDL-19-1520, August 22, 2019, https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/nlsoy.pdf.