Public Library Certification
Students who desire certification for positions in Indiana public libraries must meet the requirements established by the State Library Certification Board. For complete information, contact the:
Indiana Library Certification Board
Indiana State Library
140 N. Senate
Indianapolis, IN 46204
phone: 1-800-451-6028
http://www.statelib.lib.in.us/www/isl/ldo/cert/certmenu.html
Librarian V Certificate — Required for Directors of Public Libraries Serving Less than 5,000 Population Requirements:
- Two years (60 credit hours) of academic education in an accredited college or university, including the Library Tech Associates Degree from Ivy Tech and
- Nine additional semester credit hours of required library science courses–
- collection development (L302)
- reference and information sources (L301)
- public library administration (L305
These courses are available through IUPUI and received over interactive television at IUNW Gary, IU South Bend, IP Fort Wayne, and IUSE New Albany.
Librarian IV Certificate — Required for Directors of Public Libraries Serving 5,001 to 10,000 Population Requirements:
- Bachelor degree from an accredited college or university, and
- Fifteen semester credit hours of required library courses–
- collection development (S502)
- reference and information sources (S501)
- public library administration (S551 or S553)
- children's work (S571 or S572)
- cataloging/classification (S504)
Most of these courses are offered over interactive television and are received at IU Bloomington, IUPUI Indianapolis, IUSE New Albany, IUNW Gary, IU South Bend, and IP Fort Wayne.
Librarian III Certificate – Required for Directors of Public Libraries Serving 10,001 to 25,000 Population Requirements:
- Graduation from an accredited college or university, and
- A graduate degree from an American Library Association (ALA) accredited library science school.
Librarian II Certificate — Required for Directors of Public Libraries Serving 25,001 to 150,000 Population Requirements:
- Graduation from an accredited college or university, and
- A graduate degree from an American Library Association (ALA) accredited library science school, and
- Three years of library experience, after completing the accredited library science degree.
Librarian I Certificate – Required for Directors of Public Libraries Serving Over 150,000 Population Requirements:
- Graduation from an accredited college or university, and
- A graduate degree from an American Library Association (ALA) accredited library science school, and
- Ten years of library experience, or six years of library experience that includes three years of supervising professional staff, after completing the accredited library science degree.
See also information on the Post-MLS Executive Management Certificate with SPEA. This online program in addition to the MLS will provide emphasis for graduates in human resource management, budget development, long-range planning, and program evaluation.
The State Library does NOT grant certification school library media specialists. For information concerning the Indiana University program in teacher of library media certification go our home page.
