LDND InfoCenter

Continuing Education

The mission of the Library of Virginia’s Continuing Education Program is to enhance library staff’s capabilities in all phases of library service through a comprehensive training program.

The Library of Virginia sponsors a variety of training opportunities each year to help those responsible for library service to develop their skills and learn new approaches. Workshops and conferences cover such topics as library services to special populations, cataloging databases reference services, children and youth services, library trustees and friends of the Library. An annual public library director’s training is offered in the fall.

Resources for Answering Difficult Patron Questions Series  |  Professional Certificate  |  MLS Programs


Resources for Answering Difficult Patron Questions Series

Serving users with legal, medical, and consumer finance questions can be a challenge for many reasons. Library staff are not, generally, lawyers, doctors, or financial advisors, and these type of questions can often get complex quickly. There are some great resources out there from specialists in these areas that can help library staff and patrons in a variety of ways. Additionally, these topic areas offer opportunities to develop valuable, patron-centered library programming.

This new online training series will feature guest speakers from the Network for the National Library of Medicine, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, The Virginia State Law Library, and more to talk about how they and their colleagues provide resources, programming ideas, and assistance to public libraries and their users. All the programs will be recorded and shared in the LVA Niche Academy.

Find program dates, descriptions, and registration information.

Access recent training in Niche Academy


Librarian’s Professional Certificate

Public libraries serving a political subdivision or subdivisions having a population greater than 15,000 and libraries operated by the Commonwealth or under its authority, shall not employ, in the position of librarian or in any other full-time professional librarian position, a person who does not meet the qualifications established by the State Library Board.

To obtain a Librarian Professional Certificate for the Commonwealth of Virginia visit: http://www.lva.virginia.gov/lib-edu/certification.asp


Master in Library Science Programs

Old Dominion University, in Norfolk, Virginia: Master of Library and Information Studies Program at Old Dominion University is accredited by the American Library Association Committee on Accreditation, with the status of Initial accreditation. The next comprehensive review visit is scheduled for Fall 2028. Learn more here.

At this time the only program to offer local classes in library science is the Catholic University of America.  However, there is a range of online programs available for those interested in pursuing a master’s in library and information science.

Virginia participates in the Academic Common Market (ACM) program, which is an arrangement among Southern states allowing students to pay reduced tuition rates at a non-Virginia college or university while studying in select programs not available at Virginia public institutions.  An application for participation and further information about the program is available on their Web site.

The following colleges and universities offer distance education programs for a library science degree.

 

 

This site is made possible by a grant from the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services. It is managed by the The Library of Virginia Library Development and Networking Division.