Continuing Education Newsletter | November 1, 2023

Continuing Education Information | Certification Information

For Everyone

Webside Chat  Stay up-to-date with news from the State Library!  Thursday, November 9, 2023, at Noon Meeting link in ASPeN Events Calendar. CE: Library Administration - 1 hour Access recordings in the MSL YouTube Channel.

1-Question Survey: Training Topics in 2024

Please respond to this very short, one-question survey by November 17. Your response will be used to plan webinars, online courses, and training opportunities in 2024. 

Directors

Bonus MSL Learn Webinar - Library Districts

Join Tracy Cook on December 12 at 10:00 a.m. for a 30-minute overview of what library districts are and the laws that enable creation of a library district.  Check the ASPeN Event Calendar for more information and a meeting link.  The session will be recorded and posted to the MSL YouTube channel. .5 CE Credit – Library Administration

Plan for Resilience – WebJunction Webinar

Disaster planning has been a topic of conversation across Montana.  You may be interested in this recent webinar in a series from WebJunction: Climate Action Planning (Part 2): Disaster Preparedness and Community Resilience. You can now access the recording, slides, chat, and related links the session recorded on September 26.

“The views, findings, conclusions, recommendations, or opinions expressed in this training are solely those of the speakers, and do not necessarily represent those of the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the Montana State Library, or the Montana State Library Commission.”

Access to WebJunction is provided through funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

Trustees

Montana Library Law Course Open Now

Brush up on the most important Montana laws your board needs to follow in this short MSL Learn course.  Remember! Ignorance of a law does not protect you from liability for the consequences of breaking that law.

Participants will

• Learn about Montana’s open meeting law

• Learn about the laws that cover conflict of interest and trustee liability

• Learn about library board authority and the library records confidentiality act

1 credit - Library Administration

Guest access is available to preview courses or for those without OKTA logins. Watch this video demonstration.

Congratulations to the Thompson Falls Public Library Board

A Kudos goes out to the Thompson Falls Public Library board for 100% of Trustees completing the optional certification process! They are currently the only board to achieve this distinction.

Library Staff

MSL Learn Webinar – Montana Shared Catalog Overview

On November 14, join us to learn about the MSC program and its benefits, upcoming opportunities, and exciting improvements. Check the ASPeN Event Calendar for more information and a meeting link.  The session will be recorded and posted to the MSL YouTube channel. .5 CE Credits - Collection Management and Technical Services

Continuing Education Credit for College Coursework

It is possible to earn continuing education credit for college coursework. An unofficial transcript can be used to document course completion.

Library Science Courses

Library science college courses completed during a 4-year certification period can be used for CE credits. To be eligible for CE credits college coursework must, for the most part, be library specific.

Both undergraduate and graduate level library science courses can be converted into continuing education credits using the formula below:

Semester Credits

1 semester credit course = 4 continuing education credits

2 semester credit course = 8 continuing education credits

3 semester credit course = 12 continuing education credits

Quarter Credits

1 quarter credit course = 2 continuing education credits

2 quarter credit course = 4 continuing education credits

3 quarter credit course = 6 continuing education credits

Please contact the MSL Continuing Education Coordinator to enter these credits as independent learning events.

Non Library-Specific Courses

Review your plan to complete college coursework with your supervisor or director.

As your employer, they will determine whether CE credits for non library-specific college courses will be acceptable to verify for MSL Continuing Education credit and MSL Certification completion.  Read more about this in the Continuing Education and Certification Handbook.

Questions? 

Colet Bartow, MSL Continuing Education Coordinator, 406-444-3365

Check out our 2023-24 Continuing Education Program Dashboard to see data about Certification, MSL Learn, MSL YouTube Channel, Webpages and Newsletters, and Training Survey responses. Watch this short video to learn about how to view and use dashboard data.