Continuing Education & Training

The State Library of Kansas provides library staff continuing education options suited to individual professional development and general library staff training. The State Library does not offer direct funding for continuing education yet can suggest a few places to start.

Niche Academy and WebJunction are State Library provided resources that provide continuing education all year long. View the calendar to see planned webinars from a variety of sources including webinars that ensure librarians and patrons get the most out of the collection of digital services and resources, like cloudLibrary and Explora, provided by the State Library to all Kansans.

Kansas Library Association’s annual conference is the primary in-person professional development event for Kansas librarians and library staff.

Niche Academy

Selected tutorials and webinars covering a variety of topics including advocacy, customer service, homeless training, human resources, reference, shelving and technology.

Niche Academy
Homeless Library Institute
Training by Ryan Dowd, a well-known expert on how to engage with patrons experiencing short and long term homelessness.
People Connect Institute
PCI webinars offer fresh and objective perspectives with practical recommendations and solutions to bring measurable results.

WebJunction

Self-paced training webinars and resources for library staff. Training is offered on a variety of topics, including collections management, customer service, funding, marketing, outreach, reference, teaching patrons, technology and young adults.

WebJunction
Funding for WebJunction provided by the State Library of Kansas through a grant from the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services.

Databases

Library, Information Science and Technology Abstracts (LISTA)
access over 700 journals plus books, research reports and proceedings on subjects about librarianship, classification, cataloging, information management and more
Library Literature & Information Science Index (H.W. Wilson)
indexing of over 400 journals, including key library and information science periodicals, subjects include automation, cataloging, censorship, circulation procedures, classification, copyright legislation, government aid, library conferences, equipment and supplies, administration, preservation of materials and more

Grants & Scholarships

Organizations that offer funding to professional librarians and library staff to encourage professional development and continuing education.

Professional Associations

Kansas Library Association Educational Foundation
offers grants and scholarships to Kansas Library Association members
Mountain Plains Library Association
Mountain Plains Library Association (MPLA) offers professional development grants and hosts a bi-yearly leadership institute.

Regional Library Systems

Kansas Regional Library Systems
The seven regional library systems offer professional development and continuing education opportunities, including grants, to member library staff. Contact a consultant at your regional library system for details on what type of continuing education the system offers and what grants are available.

Library Organizations

Professional organizations within Kansas and beyond exists for many types of libraries, staff members, boards and friends. These organizations host conferences, offer webinars and resources, as well as connect colleagues within the profession.

Kansas Library Association

American Library Association

Other Organizations

Upcoming Training & Events

View the Full CE Calendar

State Library Webinar Archives

Email Lists

There are a number of email lists to join, some focused on specific types of libraries. These lists are great spaces to ask for guidance or suggestions to solve issues, share information on policies, stay up to date on trends and make connect with colleagues.

For help subscribing or updating your subscriptions email kslc@ks.gov.

KANLIB-L
This email forum deals with all issues of interest to Kansas librarians. Includes job and meeting postings, policy and procedure discussions, and more. The State Library also uses this list to announce grants, webinars/training opportunities, and updates to statewide services like databases and digital lending.
CULS-L
This is a mailing list for members of the College and Universities Libraries Section of the Kansas Library Association. Although the list is designed to serve the membership of CULS, others are welcome to join if they wish to keep abreast of the activities of our organization and academic libraries in Kansas.
KANILL-L
This discussion list covers interlibrary loan in Kansas. While most KANILL-L subscribers are ILL librarians, the list also serves automation consultants and others. Unlike the other lists, all subscriptions to this list are moderated, your request will be approved as soon as possible.
KASL-L
This mailing list is for school librarians. It requires membership to KLA + Kansas Association of School Librarians.
PUBLIB
An electronic discussion list for the discussion of issues relating to public libraries and public librarianship, nationally.

Librarians