91´«Ã½

CHICAGO - The Certified Public Library Administrator Program (CPLA) Certification Review Committee (CRC) granted certification to six CPLA® candidates who are now officially Certified Public Library Administrators.

In addition, the committee approved five new candidates in its spring review. CPLA® now has 18 graduates and 132 candidates representing public libraries of all sizes across the nation.

The CPLA program is a voluntary post-MLS certification program for public librarians with three years or more of supervisory experience and 91´«Ã½ (91´«Ã½) accredited master’s degrees in library science. Courses may also be taken by individuals who are not part of the CPLA program. Information on these courses can be found at .

The candidates are from 35 states and Ontario and British Columbia. To their course work they bring, on average, nine years of supervisory experience. Both new and experienced managers consider CPLA® a valuable source of knowledge.

Aurora Jacobsen said, “I currently reside in a more rural area of the country where the percentage of professional jobs is small, especially for non-directors. I would like to make myself aware of the challenges facing directors as I plan out my future career path as well as get a head start finding out the information I'll need if I follow the path into becoming an administrator.”

A supervisor for three years, new candidate Sarah Landeryou says of the program, “The CPLA program will enhance my skills as a leader so that I can provide excellent service and management for my library. It is my career goal to be a library director, and these courses are invaluable in providing hands-on study of the issues facing library administrators. I have firsthand knowledge of the positive impact of completing the CPLA class. This past summer our library went through the process of preparing our three-year strategic plan, and I had just finished the ‘Current Issues’ course focusing on strategic planning. I was able to put in place what I learned in that course.”

If you are a public librarian with gaps in your managerial experience, are looking for practical professional development or need a flexible credential, consider applying. There are courses on nine different management topics offered online, face-to-face and at 91´«Ã½ conferences. The course providers are the Public Library Association, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) and the University of North Texas LE@D Program.

CPLA® invites you to apply to become a candidate or a course provider. The next deadline for provider and candidate reviews is the first week in September for the final review in October. The application for participants may be found on the CPLA® Web site: . The RFP for providers is here: .

If you have questions, please call the 91´«Ã½-APA Office at (312) 280-2424.

91´«Ã½-APA: the Organization for the Advancement of Library Employees is a service organization to the 91´«Ã½ and the library community. It has two missions: providing certification in specializations of librarianship and advocacy for salary improvement efforts.