Continuing Education Requirements

While you are waiting for the next Trustee Institute in the spring of 2009, please remember that your library board must fulfill a mandatory three hour (combined total) per year Continuing Education requirement in order to earn Per Capita State Aid.  This regulation for library trustees was based on a recommendation from librarians and library directors serving on a committee called by the New Jersey State Library to update the Per Capita State Aid requirements every five years.  The new recommendation was approved through Thomas Edison State College and implemented in 2005.

The NJLA Service Standards for Public Libraries (www.njla.org) consider continuing trustee education to be met when the library: "Encourages each Board member to participate in a continuing education activity that focuses on libraries, trusteeship, or other issues pertinent to libraries and reports on the activity to the full board.  The library provides each board member with financial support in NJLTA, NJLA and ALA as well as attendance at workshops and conferences."

What constitutes Continuing Education?  The regulation leaves it to your discretion.  The library director and board president sign the "Accuracy Certification."  As long as you are comfortable that the education was "library-related" you will be able to say "yes" to the questions. Aside from the New Jersey State Library Trustee Institute, examples of continuing education may include dealing directly with library issues or broader topics
such as customer service.  Regional training, watching a video on serving the elderly and having a library in-service day (you may want to join with other libraries if you decide this might be valuable) would all qualify, as well as workshops on common law and regulations pertaining to libraries and library law, duties of trustees/commissioners, budget development and implementation, fundraising workshops, or a tour of a library to gain understanding of operations and current service trends.

Another form of continuing education for trustees is "in-service" training provided by library directors who communicate to the board in regular reports on trends and by making available a collection of reading material for trustees.  Some libraries hold "retreats" at which the director and the board can discuss library services and issues, often in cooperation with staff or invited experts. 

Trustees need to commit themselves to their continuing education.  It is part of a trustee's obligation to improve skills, exchange ideas with other trustees, and participate in the planning of continuing education events. Trustees can also gain much for active participation in Regional Library Cooperatives, NJLA, NJLTA, and ALTA at the national level.  Consider working on a committee or on the executive board for a real education that also benefits the library community at large.

For further information on the Continuing Education requirement for Trustee consult the Trustee Manual.

FAQ Continuing education requirements for Per Capita State Aid