5 Reasons to Build a Corporate Digital Library (Plus, Why It’s Valuable in the Workplace)

Without reading, learning can’t happen. And there are lots of different ways learning can take place in the context of work. One way is through a workplace learning management system (LMS). This is a software application for the administration, documentation, tracking, reporting, and delivery of educational courses, training programs, or learning and development programs. The LMS provides a central location for employees to access and complete training materials, track their progress, and receive certification or completion certificates.

In this article, we look at how fostering a reading culture and offering a variety of books with a corporate digital library will take your organization to the next level.

The 6 Benefits of Using Open LMS Work for Training Employees

Let’s start with the main benefits of our workplace-focused LMS:

1) Centralized Access to Training Materials

Employees can easily access and complete training materials from a single location, rather than having to search for them on different platforms or in different locations.

2) Tracking and Reporting

The LMS can track employee progress through training materials and generate reports on completion and performance, making it easier for managers to monitor employee training and identify areas where additional support may be needed.

3) Flexibility

LMSs can be accessed from any device with internet access, allowing employees to complete training materials on their own schedule, rather than having to attend in-person training sessions.

4) Cost-Effectiveness

Online training materials and LMSs can be more cost-effective than traditional in-person training, especially for companies with multiple locations or employees who are remote or work flexible hours.

5) Scalability

LMSs can be easily scaled to accommodate the needs of a growing workforce, and can be customized to meet the specific needs of different departments or roles within an organization.

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Why You Should Build a Corporate Digital Library

There are a lot of exciting reasons to include a digital library in your organization or institution.

1) You can learn invaluable lessons from books. The right book (or audiobook) can be not only a crucial companion in your spare time but an aid for your personal and professional development.

2) A memorable story or practical advice read in a book can help develop a great business idea or it could become that extra push you need to boost your company’s strategy. In fact, deep, broad reading habits have been proven to lead to innovation insights and sharpen intelligence.

3) Evidence suggests that reading habits are often a defining characteristic of great leaders and can catalyze empathy, creativity, critical thinking, and effectiveness. This is precisely why you should encourage your employees to read more and facilitate access to titles by having a corporate digital library available at all times.

4) Organizations that want to grow and succeed recognize that books are invaluable resources for building a strong and educated workforce. Corporations, organizations, startups, scale-ups and all types of companies have sought digital access to titles that not only matter to their own industries but that can also help to shape the type of culture they want to have in their own business. Not to mention, a digital library can also include a little entertainment reading and some content for their employees’ families as well.

5) For business leaders, the most impactful reading extends beyond explicitly “business” books to include history, novels, biographies, and even poetry. The best must-read book lists are always the most diverse.

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8 Reasons to use a Digital Library to Promote Reading Within Your Organization

1) Reading Reduces Stress

Studies have shown that reading can ease tension in your muscles and heart because it requires concentration and distracts you. With only six minutes of silent reading, the heart slows down and relaxes while you escape from the worries and stresses of everyday life and spend time exploring the domain of the author's imagination.

2) Reading Inspires

Innovation and thinking outside the box are often difficult to achieve while performing day-to-day tasks. A new book can bring a worker a new set of ideas from the outside world. Reading introduces fresh, new perspectives that inspire employees to think differently.

3) Reading Increases Knowledge

A book can be an awesome way to learn about history and get to know new cultures and expose yourself to different contexts. This is beneficial for professionals because the more you read, the more open you become in your thinking. Books are great allies to increase your awareness of people and societies.

4) Reading Improves Conversational Skills

A professional who reads on a daily basis will certainly improve their writing, vocabulary and speaking skills. A good communicator will be a better worker as they will be able to communicate ideas clearly and collaborate better.

5) Reading Strengthens Self-Discipline and Consistency

How do you discipline your mind? By establishing habits! Make reading a habit by doing it consistently and at a manageable pace. Soon, you will see consistency and self-discipline in everything you do in the workplace as well.

6) Increases Skills

Critical thinking, leadership, creativity, and other soft skills can be reinforced by reading and learning in the workplace. It has been proven that reading books helps people succeed. And, who doesn’t want successful people in their company?

7) Reading on a Regular Basis Challenges Employees to Be More Imaginative

Creativity is a highly valued asset in corporate business. By having a corporate digital library available 24/7, employees will read more, listen to more audiobooks, and watch more videos and other digital content—and therefore have a broader set of ideas ready to be worked on.

8) Reading Can Reinforce Core Values

Companies of all sizes are actively deploying corporate digital libraries and virtual book clubs to help deliver their corporate culture and core values, and to achieve training and learning objectives. A title that expands upon one of your company’s core values can reinforce this principle’s importance to the business.

To get you started, here are some tips for building a digital library for your organization:

• Have a personalized digital library set up for your employees.
• Pick at least 12 books and make it a reading challenge. Challenge your employees to read one book per month. Inspire them to read during their commutes, before bed, and in their free time. You can even offer rewards to encourage active participation!
• Make it a habit. Encourage employees to pick a certain time of the day to do some reading and to stick to it. Make reading slots and spaces available for your team members.
• Create book clubs. Encourage the conversation by creating virtual book clubs where readers can discuss a book together.
• Brag about your continuous reading and learning culture. You will see how great it is for business!

Want to learn more? Contact Open LMS to explore how you can start building your digital library in your LMS today.

Key Features

Here are some key features to look for in a Moodle™-based Business LMS platform:

1) User Management: The ability to manage and organize users into different groups, roles, and permissions.

2) Course Management & Customizable Course Creation: The ability to create, manage, and deliver courses, assessments, and certifications.

3) Learning Progress Tracking: The ability to track and measure learner progress, test scores, and completion status.

4) Interactive Learning: Support for multimedia content such as videos, animations, and interactive quizzes.

5) Gamification: Incorporation of game-like elements, such as points, badges, and leaderboards, to enhance motivation.

6) Mobile Learning: Responsive design and compatibility with mobile devices, allowing learners to access the LMS from anywhere, at any time.

7) Reporting and Analytics: Ability to generate detailed reports on learner progress and overall performance.

8) Integrations: Ability to integrate with other systems such as HRIS, CRM, and payroll.

9) User Experience: User-friendly interface, intuitive navigation, and easy access to resources.

10) Customer Support: Reliable customer support, training, and resources to ensure the LMS meets the needs of the organization.

11) Accessibility and Compliance: Adherence to accessibility standards and the ability to manage and track compliance requirements such as regulatory and industry standards.

12) Scalability and Flexibility: The ability to accommodate growth and changing needs by adding more users, courses, and resources as needed, as well as the ability to customize and configure the LMS to meet the unique requirements of the organization.

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Examples of Companies Currently Using Open LMS Work for Training

1) Dircom and Open LMS: The Ideal Partnership for Corporate Communication Professionals:

Training the best professionals is a goal that every organization wants to provide. To do so, they must always be at the forefront of the trends and latest learning technologies that the world demands.

In order to adapt to new teaching processes, Dircom now relies on the solid, reliable, and scalable digital learning platform provided by Open LMS.

Read the case study to discover how the journey towards adoption of a reliable platform through Open LMS and eLearning Media unfolded.

2) How Colombia's Leading Airline Strengthens Its Training Processes Using Open LMS

Companies must use the latest digital tools to build better staff training processes if they want to stay ahead of their competition. Colombian airline Avianca S.A. is proof of this. It has built a digital learning ecosystem based on Open LMS while integrating other technologies such as Blackboard Collaborate and IntelliBoard to meet its asynchronous and synchronous training needs. Read the case study

Open LMS Work delivers great online learning experiences while helping organizations to achieve strategic goals and fulfil compliance requirements.

This blog post was originally published in July 2019 and has been refreshed. A version of the information appeared on ODILO, the world’s largest intelligent digital library and virtual book club provider.