OKLAHOMA CITY – Fall 2022 Public Library Academy classes have opened for registration, the Oklahoma Department of Libraries announced recently.
Class offerings this fall are:
How to Think Like a Librarian (a prerequisite for all other classes). This two-hour class will be offered from 1 to 3 p.m. on Oct. 11 at the Lawton Public Library.
Public Library Administration. This four-hour course will be taught from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Sept. 28 at the Clinton Public Library.
Collection Development. This four-hour class will be offered in Ardmore on Sept. 14; Bartlesville, Sept. 22; Stroud, Oct. 6; and Watonga, Oct. 12.
Programming and Outreach (replaces Adult Services class). This four-hour course will be offered from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Sept. 21 at the Anadarko Community Library.
All class offerings and class locations for the fall can be found here: https://libraries.ok.gov/librarians/library-development/certification/courses/.
“We are returning to in-person classes for the first time in two years” because of the coronavirus pandemic, said Bill Young, public information manager for the state Department of Libraries.
Classes are free to qualifying staff of public and tribal libraries, Young said, because the program is underwritten with federal funds from the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
All registrations for the Fall 2022 Public Library Academy classes will be processed online using Eventbrite. Register for each class by clicking on the link for the particular class you want to attend. This online system allows applicants to verify they are registered.
There is a limit of 30 seats for each class and classes will not be held if fewer than five people register. You will be notified by email if a class has been cancelled.
If any classes are full, “overflow” registrants will have their names placed on a waiting list if they register with an email address.
There are 20 date/time opportunities to attend this fall’s classes, with a maximum of 30 per class. “If we fill them all up, 180 people will have attended – if the pandemic doesn’t rear its head,” Young said. “So, during a good year, we can expect 300 or more attendees”
Statewide there are currently 751 actively certified public library staff members, and they have to renew every few years, Young said.
Submit questions about the fall courses via email to “education@libraries.ok.gov.”
The Oklahoma Department of Libraries and the Oklahoma Library Association are partners in the public librarian certification program. “Its purpose is to assure that public libraries in the state are administered by trained personnel, and to keep library staff abreast of current trends and services,” Young said. “As a result, class content has changed on occasion since the programs’ beginning in 1992. Right now, nine courses are offered during spring and fall semesters.”
Spring semester courses include:
Computers and Electronic Resources (four hours).
Current Trends in Libraries (a 1.5-hour webinar).
Legislation Affecting Public Libraries (two hours).
Interpersonal Skills (four hours).
Reference and Reader’s Advisory (four hours).
None of the nine classes covers the Dewey Decimal or Library of Congress cataloging systems. “This is more on-the-job training, and cataloging software does a good job of providing the classification of materials,” Young said.
There are 221 public library buildings in this state. Oklahoma has eight library systems (funded with ad valorem taxes) that have multiple branches, and more than 100 municipal libraries (funded with city tax dollars).
The systems include Southern Prairie Library System, with branches in Jackson County (Altus) and Harmon County (Hollis).
The other library systems are Western Plains (seven branches in Washita, Custer, Dewey and Rogers Mills counties), Metropolitan (19 branches in Oklahoma County), Pioneer (12 branches in Cleveland, McClain and Pottawatomie counties), Southern Oklahoma (eight branches in Atoka, Carter, Johnston, Love and Murray counties), Tulsa City-County (24 branches), Eastern Oklahoma (15 branches in Adair, Cherokee, Delaware, McIntosh, Muskogee and Sequoyah counties), and Southeast Oklahoma (15 branches in Choctaw, Coal, Haskell, Latimer, LeFlore, McCurtain and Pittsburg counties).
Other municipal libraries southwest Oklahoma include Lawton, Elgin, Walters, Tipton, Frederick, Grandfield, Waurika, Ringling, Marlow, Duncan, Rush Springs, Apache, Carnegie, Anadarko, Mountain View, Hobart and Mangum.
All public libraries are local government entities, and the Oklahoma Department of Libraries does not have any jurisdiction over them, Young said.
“Our influence comes with established requirements for libraries to receive state aid from the Legislature and to receive federal library grants,” he said. For example: All libraries must offer public access to the internet and interlibrary loan services; libraries of certain sizes must be open a certain number of hours; and libraries in communities with a larger population must have a director with a master’s degree in library science.