Continuing Education
The mission of the Library of Virginia’s Continuing Education project is to provide Virginia library staff with education and leadership development opportunities that enable them to deliver high-quality library and information services, effect positive change in their communities, respond to developments and evolution in library practices, and respond to a rapidly changing environment in which library services are provided.
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.
Best Practices for Handling Document and Papers Donations
The Library of Virginia has an unparalleled collection of private papers that includes records of businesses, organizations, churches, and individuals. These records span 400 years of Virginia’s history and provide not only a perspective on “big moments,” but also a valuable record of day-to-day life in the Commonwealth. This online program from Trenton Hizer, Sr. Manuscripts Acquisition and Digital Archivist at the Library of Virginia, will cover the LVA collections and practices for dealing with inquiries about donating business, organizational, and/or private papers to public library collections, including clarifying what LVA considers adding to its collections and to whom at LVA you can refer people for further help.
When: Tuesday, 1/28, 1:00 pm
Register: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAvdu2spj4rE9cWVzjIXQ863CxhiZQqi6PS
Access all our recent training in the LVA Niche Academy.
The Library of Virginia Niche Academy provides an array of self-paced learning opportunities for Virginia library staff. Niche Academy is open to all Virginia library staff members and library associates such as trustees and Friends board members. If you do not have a Niche Academy account, please use your library email address to sign up. If you do not have a library work email, you may register with a personal email, and we will contact you to confirm that you are affiliated with a Virginia library.
This subscription was made possible through a grant provided by the Institute of Museum and Library Services, Library Services and Technology Act.
LVA offers People Connect Institute (PCI) course seats for both live and archived webinars. PCI provides training for nationally-recognized instructors on topics for library organizations of all types and sizes. These webinars are only available to staff working in libraries located in Virginia.
To access PCI trainings, visit: https://my.nicheacademy.com/libraryofvirginia-staff?category=12353
This subscription was made possible through a grant provided by the Institute of Museum and Library Services, Library Services and Technology Act.
New to library work? Through the LVA Niche Academy, you can access a variety of training that covers a variety of topics that will be helpful in your new position.
Each year in the Spring and Fall, the Library of Virginia offers seats in each of the two Harwood Institute Turning Outward Labs. Each lab is completely virtual and takes place in just five weekly 2-hour interactive sessions with a team of Certified Harwood Coaches.
The Spring lab is Getting Started and is the first part of the series, which helps people learn how to recognize when change happens and unfolds in a community, what matters most to people in their community, what state of progress the community is in, and how they can best meet their needs now and in the future.
The Fall lab is Unleashing Impact, and is part two of the series. In this lab, folks build upon the skills gained in Getting Started. Participants learn how to unleash, grow, and spread a chain of actions throughout their community to be much more effective in making an impact.
Getting Started - Spring 2025 (20 seats)
Lab Dates:
- Orientation - March 31, 2025 | 2 - 3:30 pm
- Session 1 - April 1, 2025 | 2-4 pm
- Session 2 - April 8, 2025 | 2-4 pm
- Session 3 - April 15, 2025 | 2-4 pm
- Session 4 - April 22, 2025 | 2-4 pm
- Session 5 - April 29, 2025 | 2-4 pm
Applications will be accepted from January 28 - February 19, 2025.
Unleashing Impact - Fall 2025 (10 seats)
Lab Dates:
- Forthcoming!
Old Dominion University, in Norfolk, Virginia currently offers the only Master of Library and Information Studies program in Virginia. The MLIS 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.
Looking for another Master's in Library Science program? The following colleges and universities offer distance and in-person education programs for a library science degree.
According to the Code of Virginia, § 42.1-15.1, "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."
Find out how you can obtain a Librarian's Professional Certificate for the Commonwealth of Virginia.
- ABLE Courses
- The free, online Alternative Basic Library Education (ABLE) Program provides basic library knowledge and skills for staff members who have no formal education in library science. Courses cover technical services, collection development, and reference.
- CREW: A Weeding Manual for Modern Libraries
- Developed by the State Library of Texas, the CREW Method has provided guidance to librarians and staff in small and medium-sized public libraries about how to weed outdated and no longer useful materials from their collections.
- DigitalLearn.org
- From the Public Library Association (PLA). A collection of self-directed tutorials for end-users to increase their digital literacy. Modules are video-based with narration, 6 to 22 minutes long, written at the fourth-grade reading level, and help learners practice skills like using a mouse and setting up passwords. Nearly all modules are available in Spanish as well as English.
- Excel Easy
- An easy tutorial with multiple examples on how to best use Excel.
- GCFLearnFree.org
- Over 750 online classes offer the opportunity to learn on your own time and at your own pace. All classes are free and provide a Certificate of Completion. Subjects range from computers to the Internet to software to life skills.
- Indiana State Library Online Training Series
- Developed by the Indiana State Library – free webinars plus archived recordings
- Infopeople
- Infopeople is the training arm of the California State Library and offers online courses and webinars on many library-related topics. Some content is specific to California, but much is relevant to the library community at large.
- Internet Library for Librarians
- An information portal specifically designed for librarians to locate Internet resources related to their profession. It provides links to more than 4,000 resources. All the resources are recommended, selected, and reviewed by librarians. Each entry has a full description of the goals and /or scope of the resource, as well as the contact information if provided.
- Library of Congress: Resources for Librarians & Archivists
- A wide range of topics and formats of interest to librarians and archivists. Options include 26 Webcasts, MARC tutorials, and information sheets on preservation.
- National Library of Medicine: Web-Based Training and Distance Education
- Brief tutorials on various medical library resources such as PubMed and MedlinePLUS. Some include videos and handouts.
- OCLC WorldShare Interlibrary Loan Tutorials
- The tutorials listed here can show you everything you need to know about WorldShare ILL. Of course, if you prefer instructor-led training, the OCLC training team offers regular WorldShare ILL migration training sessions, with helpful instructors to guide you.
- Ohio Library Council Online Learning
- Tutorials on library marketing, reference, and general library practices for new employees. While the tutorials include some Ohio-specific content, they are general enough for use anywhere.
- RDA Series Webinars
- Free recordings of webinars from the Association for Library Collections & Technical Services (ALCTS). Be sure to check out the other recordings about collections, cataloging, preservation, and more.
- Simple Book Repair Manual
- Contains a list of necessary book repair tools, and instructions for ten simple repairs: Self-Closing Wrapper, Cleaning, Torn pages, Tip in a Page, Hinge Repair, Corner Repair, Sewing a Single Signature, Spine Repair, Air Dry Method, Hinge Tightening.
- Smart Investing: Reference Strategies and Resources
- Welcome to Smart Investing: Reference Strategies and Resources, an online training course available to all librarians who would like to improve their reference strategies and knowledge of financial literacy concepts and resources. The goal of the course is to promote confidence and competence in responding to your library patrons’ questions on personal finance and investment.
- Tech Training for Libraries
- Created by the Colorado State Library, Tech Training for Libraries is a new site with instructor materials and information related to technology training in public libraries for folks teaching public computer classes or training staff to be better one-on-one tech tutors.
- Using Online Resources at the Government & Heritage Library
- Developed by staff at the State Library of North Carolina, these short videos provide an introduction to the use of online resources available at the State Library’s Government and Heritage Library, such as NCpedia and the North Carolina Newspaper Locator.
- WebJunction Course Catalog
- Welcome to the learning management site for WebJunction’s continuing education opportunities. Access to WebJunction’s library-specific courses is available for free to all library workers and volunteers across the nation. All learners will need to create a new account. Begin by selecting Log in at the top right of this page, and then Create new account. Once you’ve created your new account, explore the catalog of library-focused self-paced courses and webinars. Certificates of completion will be available to you after you have completed any course or webinar that you enroll in from the catalog.
Want to make your library a more welcoming and inclusive place, but not sure how to start? This trainings from the Library of Virginia can help. Check out all the LVA EDI trainings on Niche Academy.
The Library Development & Networking Division provides in-person and virtual training to public libraries for Crucial Conversations for Mastering Dialogue throughout the year.
Crucial Conversations training is designed to provide participants with a powerful set of skills to identify, assess, and hold those difficult conversations which can impact individual and organizational success. The costs of the course and materials is covered by the Library of Virginia and is valued at $1795/person.
The training comes in two formats:
- In-person
- 2 day event, usually from 9:30a-4:30p each day
- Has a registration fee to help offset costs for lunch on both days
- 15 person minimum
- Virtual
- 5 day event, usually from 1:00p-4:00p each day
- No registration fee
- 15 person minimum
Check the Crucial Conversations schedule for upcoming training dates