South Dakota State Library Services

The State Library recognizes public library directors and staff who update their knowledge and skills on a continuing basis. The goals of this program are to help library directors and staff acquire and maintain skills in order to provide better library service to their communities.

Certificates are awarded by the SD State Library during the annual SDLA conference in September.

• The deadline for applications is September of each year. Watch the listservs for specific dates.
• Certificates will be awarded at the SD Library Association Annual Conference.
• An individual's certification is valid for three (3) years.
• To renew at the same level will require 30 contact hours of continuing education during that 3-year period.

Applicants must supply a diploma, transcripts, and/or approved contact hours form (below) for SDSL committee approval.

South Dakota Public Library Standards is a self-evaluation tool. These standards are intended to:

• Provide a tool to assess the quality of library service
• Identify areas needing improvement
• Aid libraries in gaining maximum community support

The South Dakota State Library accreditation committee will review all applications. Libraries will receive accreditation certificates at SDLA Legislative Day in Pierre.

The manual below is divided into three sections by level of accreditation:

• ESSENTIAL — the minimum which should be available to all
• ENHANCED — an expansion of services beyond the basic
• EXEMPLARY — the highest level of service

Each section is then divided into the following categories:

• Governance
• Administration
• Access
• Collections and Resources
• Funding
• Staffing
• Technology
• Public Relations

Each standard is presented as a statement, allowing the library to easily determine whether it meets or does not meet the criteria.

Accreditation applications may be submitted September through December.  Specific dates will be announced via listserv.

Library accreditations reflect three calendar years.

CURRENT ACCREDITED LIBRARIES

LIBRARIES WITH EXPIRED ACCREDITATIONS:

Below are messages from our Monthly Reminders Series posted to the public library directors listserv.

January: Public Library Accreditation – The Basics

What is it?

Public Library Accreditation is a VOLUNTARY program in which libraries review a list of standards and evaluate the library based on those standards. These standards are intended to:

• Provide a tool to assess the quality of library service
• Identify areas needing improvement
• Aid libraries in gaining maximum community support

Libraries are accredited for three years at one of three levels: Essential, Enhanced, Exemplary. Accredited libraries have to have certified library directors. The application period opens every September and closes in December. Libraries apply using the Public Library Survey portal. Certificates are awarded in a special ceremony at Library Legislative Day the following January or February.

Learn all about Accreditation/Certification by visiting http://libguides.library.sd.gov/services/cert_accred

Here is a handy checklist for you as you go through the application process https://libguides.library.sd.gov/ld.php?content_id=46096835

February: Public Library Accreditation – Trustee Continuing Education

The voluntary library accreditation application doesn’t open until September, but it’s not too soon to prepare. We get a lot of questions about meeting the continuing education (CE) requirements for library board members. Here are some guidelines to help your trustees share the responsibility. Public library trustees sign on to lead the library by setting policy, engaging in strategic planning, and optimizing the library’s budget. This is an important job!

How to meet trustee CE requirements for accreditation:

Trustees have a three-year period over which they can earn CE hours.

CE hours must be earned by two or more trustees—but all library board members should participate.

For libraries preparing to apply for the Enhanced and Exemplary levels, only a portion of CE hours can be done online.

Please note: You cannot count the library director’s CE hours toward this requirement. Directors’ training hours go toward certification—a separate requirement toward accreditation.

CE requirements:

Essential level: 15 hours

Enhanced level: 30 hours (15 of which must be F2F)

Exemplary level: 45 hours (15 of which must be F2F)

Sharing the responsibility:

If five trustees agree to earn CE hours over the course of three years then the workload for each trustee is as follows:

Essential level: 1 hour per year, per trustee

Enhanced level: 2 hours per year, per trustee

Exemplary level: 3 hours per year, per trustee

You can see that it’s not that much, if you break it down.

How to earn F2F hours:

One trustee can earn approximately 14 hours of CE credit by attending one of the 2-day SDLA annual conferences.

Kathleen can give you more ideas on how your trustees can earn F2F training hours throughout the year.

The State Library provides many opportunities for earning CE hours online. Visit the SDSL Training Opportunities webpage for some ideas

March: Public Library Accreditation – SD Library Training Institute

In Appendix A of the Public Library Accreditation Standards document http://libguides.library.sd.gov/ld.php?content_id=46568291, you will notice mention of the SD Library Training Institute. What is it and how does it relate to accreditation?

One of the requirements for a library to be accredited is that the library director be certified at the required level. See #15 of the document:

15. The library has a permanent, paid director who is, or will be within two years of hire, certified at the required level, or who is actively enrolled in a program leading to the required certification. (See Appendix A)

You will learn more about library director certification next month, but Public Library Institute is one way that a library director may meet those certification requirements.

Public Library Training Institute is a four-year program of continuing education for South Dakota-based library practitioners, support staff and trustees of small public libraries. The program requires week-long attendance at a host university in June and selected online coursework during the fall and winter months in between the June sessions. No prior formal library science education, or previous college attendance, is required to attend.

Institute participants can start the program at any point in the curriculum, but must complete a four-year program of continuing education that includes on-campus and off-campus requirements in seven (7) years. Institute instructors provide in-depth classes in: the foundations of public library service; public library administration; services to the public; collections; cataloging and metadata; technology; as well as other current topics. Students earn college credit from the host university, and after completion of the program, are recognized as certified public library practitioners.

Scholarships to this program are limited and also based on need.