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 role of the Certification Board is to ensure that library employees increase 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 excellent library service.
Thus, the goals of the certification program are:
- to improve library service throughout the state
- to motivate public librarians to acquire, maintain, and develop their skills through basic and continuing education
- to recognize public librarians who, on a continuing basis, update their knowledge and skills in order to provide better library service to their patrons
- to improve the public image of librarians and libraries
- to provide guidelines for public library boards and supervisors to use in selecting and retaining personnel; and
- to aid in structuring library educational programs to better meet the educational needs of librarians.
Information pertaining to the certification process and requirements, including the Certification Manual, can be found
here.
In order to help Kentucky libraries provide the best possible service to their communities, KDLA offers a variety of training opportunities for librarians, library staff, and trustees:
Information on all of the items mentioned above can be found here.