The Governor’s Executive Workforce Board is recommending ways that Ohio’s education, nonprofit, labor and business sectors can work together to match skilled workers to available jobs.

Two of the board’s suggestions specifically mention public libraries:

1. Re-brand Ohio’s public libraries as “Continuous Learning Centers” that serve as hubs for information about local in-demand jobs and relevant education and training resources. Additionally, bolster the Ohio Digital Library’s online education resources to provide more accessible training materials to adult learners.
2. Require OhioMeansJobs Centers to enter into memorandums of agreement with public libraries to facilitate collaboration and coordination of workforce development programs.

The specific recommendations begin on page 14 of the board’s report. This is not bill language or a new law, but simply recommendations to the governor. In discussing the importance of Ohio’s public libraries, Ryan Burgess, Director of the Governor’s Office of Workforce Transformation (OWT), specifically mentioned Ohio’s almost 9 million library cardholders and that Ohio has the highest library use per capita in the nation.

OLC staff and some members of the OLC’s Government Relations Committee have met with OWT in recent months and shared information on how public libraries provide “lifelong learning opportunities” to Ohio residents and job seekers. The recommendations in this report show that Ohio’s public libraries have an important role to play in developing a skilled workforce and connecting Ohio employers with qualified workers.