The New York State Board of Regents revised Commissioner's Regulation § 90.7 regarding certification of public librarians. Public librarian professional certificates issued as of January 1, 2010, and thereafter shall only remain valid when 60 hours of professional development are completed every five-year period. Such periods will be defined as every five years from the initial certificate date.

A wide range of options for professional development is available. Approved programs from accepted providers include formal classes or courses, workshops, seminars, lectures, institutes, webinars, e-courses, library conference programs, or other relevant programs. As stipulated in Commissioner's Regulation § 90.7(c)(1), curriculum from "any other institution or provider as pre-approved by the employing library, employing library system or the State Education Department" can fulfill the professional development requirement.

Additionally, these 60 hours may include up to 12 hours accomplished through:

• Supervised internship(s) for which no academic credit is awarded.
• Instructional activities that include relevant content both created by and delivered by the public librarian professional certificate holder.
• A supervised professional development project in a relevant content area for which no academic credit is awarded.

These activities must be documented by a letter of completion authorizing this qualifying credit.

Information on continuing education opportunities can be found on the New York State Library companion site librarycareersny.org. Training opportunities for professional development from a variety of sources and vendors have been listed on the Calendar section of this site.

Professional development topics offered by libraries, library systems, library associations, and other course providers have been identified below to help guide librarians to acceptable courses and activities.

Certificates or transcripts showing successful completion of courses are acceptable forms of documentation, as are letters from a supervisor indicating completion of a program or project.

Disclaimer: The providers and course opportunities sections in these pages are not inclusive, and there may be other topics relevant to individual libraries and situations. Contact your public library system or the New York State Library for further information.

Disclaimer: The providers and course opportunities sections in these pages are not inclusive, and there may be other topics relevant to individual libraries and situations. Contact your public library system or the New York State Library for further information.