Certification FAQ

Two full-time professional librarians active in public library work, two public library trustees, and one professional librarian from a department or school of library science in a state university. The State Librarian is also a standing member.

Professional 1, 2, 3, 4, and Paraprofessional 1, 2, 3. You can see details about the requirements for each of these on pages 9-10 of the Certification Manual​.

That depends on the level of certification you need. All Professional certificates require college-level library science coursework, but Paraprofessional certificates do not. Paraprofessional certificate-holders may take college-level library science courses if they choose to do so.

You may take courses from any of the approved providers on this list: Approved Guidelines for Asynchronous Training Courses (PDF). If you find a training from a provider that’s not on the list, just request approval for the provider on our course approval form.

Asynchronous training allows you, as the student, to access content or learn outside the classroom at your convenience or independent of the instructor. It basically allows you to complete a training at your own pace, instead of having a set class meeting time.

This is a common misconception. You may take any library science course from any college you like. We’ve compiled lists of schools that offer online courses, and you can take courses from any of them! Check out our lists of online college-level courses.

This change is due to the new certification regulations that were approved in January 2021. Your Library Experience certificate will be valid until your certification renewal date. At that time, you’ll apply for renewal under your new certificate.

Yes! All full-time staff providing library services are required to be certified. “Library services” are duties requiring special skills and knowledge to be performed properly. As a cataloger, you definitely need special skills and knowledge, and you are a vital part of the library’s ability to provide service to the public!

The most up-to-date forms are available from our Certification page. If the form you have asks for your Social Security number, you have an outdated form! Please be sure to always use the newest forms on our website.

Please don’t! Your expiration date takes precedence over your library’s Annual Summation month. If you need to submit your Summation early so that you can renew, go ahead and do it!

Yes! You may upload your documentation to our Online Learning Portal, email it to us, or upload it to Google Docs or Dropbox. If you’d use Google Docs or Dropbox, please email us first at KDLA.Certification@ky.gov so we’ll know to be on the lookout for your stuff.

First, we review what you sent and determine how many contact hours the activities are worth. Then, we enter those hours into our database. Next, we scan and email your library’s Summations to your director (or their designee), who should distribute a copy to you. We put the original copy of the Summation in your paper file here at KDLA, and we put your Learning Activity Reports (LARs) and any documentation you submitted in a folder. After 3 months, we recycle the LARs and documentation.

We recommend that you do just to keep you in the habit, but it is not required.

We recommend that you do just to get you used to the process, but it is not required.

Check out this handy-dandy chart: Annual Summation Schedule. It shows due dates for each region and the calendar year you’re submitting. If you’re not sure which region you’re in, click the link at the bottom called “Continuing Education Consultant by Region and County.”

Every 5 years, you must accrue a minimum number of contact hours:

• Professional certificates = 100
• Paraprofessional I = 75
• Paraprofessional II & III = 50

Unfortunately, no, hours do not roll over. Once you renew, the slate is wiped clean and you start again at zero. So it may be a good idea to renew your certificate as soon as you reach your minimum hours.

To convert CEUs to CH, you can usually just move the decimal one place to the right. In this case, the course is worth 15 CH. If that conversion seems wrong, or adds up to a really high number, please contact your CE Consultant to get the correct number.

Contact hours (CH) are a way to count training based on the actual amount of time spent in active learning. So a 1 hour training is equal to 1 CH. We count CH in quarter-hour increments after the first half-hour. Here are some examples:

• 45 minutes = .75 CH
• 1 hour, 15 minutes = 1.25 CH
• 25 hours = 25 CH

Great job! The answer to your question may be found on pages 26-27 of the Certification Manual​. If you’ve looked at the chart and still aren’t sure, email us at KDLA.Certification@ky.gov

Maybe…but only if it’s directly related to your job. If you ever have a question as to whether or not something will count, especially if there’s a cost involved, contact your CE Consultant beforehand so we can give it the yay or nay.

Definitely! Lots of job-related activities count, like attending conferences, taking online courses, writing articles for professional publications, and more! See a fuller list on pages 14-15 of the Certification Manual​.

Sure! Archived/recorded webinars are great ways to get contact hours without being held to someone else’s schedule. When you view an archived webinar, fill out a Learning Activity Report, check the box next to “Archived” for webinar type, and write a good description of what you learned. If you have a certificate of completion, please submit that too.

All certificates expire 5 years after their date of issuance. To find out when yours expires, contact your CE Consultant.

Uh-oh! When your certificate expires, your director will get a letter notifying them that you’ve expired and you’re given a 3-month grace period to get back into compliance. If nothing happens in those 3 months, the president of your library’s board of trustees will receive a letter notifying them that you are still non-compliant and that you are getting another 3-month grace period. If you’re still expired after those 6 months, your board president will be notified that your library is being fined $100 per KRS 171.990. The library may choose to pass the fine on to you. If you still do not move into compliance, your library will be fined $100 annually on the anniversary of your expiration.

Don’t panic, we can help! You can request an extension from the Certification Board. If you’d like to do this, please contact your CE Consultant and we’ll walk you through the process.

No worries! No worries – you can login to our Online Learning Portal to see this information! Just go to your Dashboard and look in the Credentials box. If you’re a director and you need that info on your staff, just let us know and we can do that too!

You may contact us directly via email at KDLA.Certification@ky.gov or call us at one of the numbers listed here. Remember, you are responsible for your certification, so please feel free to contact us any time you have questions!

Please contact us at KDLA.Certification@ky.gov. If your question is an FAQ, it might be included on this list in the future!