Certification

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​The Kentucky State Board for the Certification of Librarians, created by the Kentucky General Assembly in 1938, is required by KRS 171.250 to issue certificates to qualified library staff. Under the terms of KRS 171.260, public libraries in Kentucky are required to be administered and staffed by appropriately certified personnel. The Certification Board believes that library staff must increas​e their skills and knowledge through continuing education in order to keep abreast of developments in the information age. This, in turn, upgrades the library profession, enriches the individual librarian, and promotes quality library service.​​

Certification Bo​​ard Members

The State Board for the Certification of Librarians (KRS 171.240) is composed of the state librarian and five (5) members appointed by the Governor from a list submitted by the board of directors of the Kentucky Library Association. Two (2) members shall be full-time professional librarians in active public library work, two (2) shall be public library trustees and one (1) shall be a professional librarian from a department or school of library science in a state university. The term of office of each appointive member shall be four (4) years.

Current Certification Board members (PDF)

Board Mee​​​ti​​ngs

The Board will meet:

All meetings are at 2pm ET in the KDLA Board Room and online at https://www.youtube.com/user/KDLACE.

If you wish to attend and speak in-person at a Certification Board meeting, please email KDLA.certification@ky.gov​ 24 hours in advance of the meeting time.​

Resou​​rces

• Certification Ma​nual 2023​​ ​(PDF)
  
  
• Approved Guidelines for Determination of Paraprofessional Level of Certification (PDF)
  
  
• 2021 Types and Requirements of Certification by Level (PDF)
  
  
• Asynchronous Training Course Information:
  • ​ Approved Guidelines for Asynchronous Training Courses (PDF)​​​
    
  • Asynchronous Training Course Approval Flowchart​ (PDF)​
    
  • Asynchronous Course Provider Approval Form
  • ​NOTE: Please review the Guidelines and Flowchart before submitting an approval request. ​
  
  
• ​Ce​rtification Applications and Forms​​:
  • Initial Certification Application (PDF)
  • Renewal Application (PDF)
  • Learning Activity Report (PDF)
  • Annual Summation of Learning Activities (PDF)
  ​​
  
• Annual Summation Schedule – Due Dates, Overview, by Region​​
  
  
• Certification FAQ​
  
  
• "All New Certification Rules!" webinar, recorded 2/17/2021:
  https://youtu.be/69uDiRnsZUU
  
  
• ​"Basics of Kentucky Public Library Certification Program” webinar, recorded 8/30/2022:
  https://youtu.be/I1mjZLUbTDo​​
  

Questio​​​ns?

If you have other questions regarding the Kentucky public librarian certification program, contact continuing education staff by email at KDLA.Certification@ky.gov or by phone at (502) 564-1727.

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