From Information to Innovation: Libraries Supporting a Future-Ready Workforce 2026

This North Carolina Community College Library Association's (NCCCLA) conference will examine how libraries support workforce development and economic mobility. Libraries play a pivotal role in supporting initiatives to realign mission statements and organizational strategies to include workforce development. The conference seeks forward-thinking proposals highlighting topics such as advancing technological processes affecting labor market trends, integrating library programming into career pathways, embedding information literacy into CTE programs, using open educational resources (OER) to reduce barriers, designing makerspaces and digital labs, data and assessment tools for demonstrating library impact on student retention and job placement, successful campus collaborations with local employers and workforce boards, and navigating artificial intelligence tools. The theme challenges librarians to see themselves as active architects of student and community opportunity.