Udemy, presented by Gale, and Lynda.com, from LinkedIn, are both online learning services that offer courses through on-demand video instruction from experts in their fields. These services use different methods for sourcing and presenting their content, each with its own advantages depending on the individual user, but both are leaders in delivering skill-building courses on these popular topics:

• software and web development
• business and marketing
• creative tools and strategies
• leadership and management
• personal development

Both services provide high quality, in-demand content that is available to individual consumers as well as to organizations like libraries, and in some cases the same course is available through both services. Udemy curates its Udemy Business collection (what library patrons have access to) by selecting the best courses from its expansive consumer marketplace based on consumer demand, user feedback, and instructor responsiveness. In addition, Gale (who provides libraries access to Udemy) also have made an international collection of Udemy courses available to library users. Lynda.com seeks out in-demand content to be created and published on its platform.

These different strategies can affect the content that's offered: At the time the Library evaluated these services, Udemy for Business had a smaller collection of 4000+ courses compared to Lynda.com's 6000+, whereas Udemy Business provided more recently updated courses with 85% updated in the past 2 years compared to Lynda's 50%. Udemy instructors may also post periodic announcements to the course for additional timely assistance, context, or motivation.

Both services provide superior user experiences:

• high quality videos
• captioning
• searchable transcripts
• downloadable exercise files
• space for personal notes
• mobile apps for iOS and Android
• progress tracking
• certificates of completion
• personalized course recommendations

Share your thoughts

Udemy has been in the consumer market since 2010 but is relatively new to libraries. Udemy has partnered with Gale, a well-respected library content provider, to adapt their product to meet library needs. This is a work in progress. Gale and Udemy are fine-tuning their systems based on feedback from library users, and the Library is providing access to this product now for our patrons who would like to explore Udemy content immediately and shape its future in libraries. If you would like to share your thoughts, please contact us.