PROGRAM OVERVIEW
Whether you earned a library science degree or entered the profession from another career, this Professional Certificate program will help you take your career as a public library manager or director to the next level. With the program's team of professors and expert practitioners, you’ll hone your skills in budgeting and finance, personnel, diversity, identifying community needs, strategic planning, managing infrastructure, marketing, and grant writing.
The program will be taught through job-embedded assignments that will help make the learning relevant while strengthening your capabilities. Those who complete the program and earn the Professional Certificate will be well-prepared for public libraries’ common management responsibilities.
This program is provided on the EdX platform and it is designed and taught by the faculty of the University of Michigan. To receive a certificate you have to go to the course website of this course, register/enroll, pay a fee (approximately 350 USD), and then start studying and completing all assignments and exams.
This program is provided on the EdX platform and it is designed and taught by the faculty of the University of Michigan. To receive a certificate you have to go to the course website of this course, register/enroll, pay a fee (approximately 350 USD), and then start studying and completing all assignments and exams.
WHAT YOU WILL LEARN
- Understand your community’s wants and needs via various assessment tools and synthesize them into a plan;
- Be an effective fiscal steward via budgeting, long-term planning, and savvy financial practices;
- Gain an awareness of how to plan for maintenance, infrastructure, utilities, technology, and related expenses;
- Manage a thriving workforce via effective diversity practices, hiring, evaluation, and other personnel issues;
- Promote the work of the library through marketing and public relations practices;
- Expand the library’s impact via effective grant writing and crowdfunding efforts.
COURSES IN THIS PROGRAM
Public Library Management includes the following eight independent courses each of which can be completed in one month of time.
1. Identifying Community Needs for Public Library Management
2. Managing a Diverse and Inclusive Workplace for Public Libraries
3. Personnel Management for Public Libraries
4. Budgeting and Finance for Public Libraries
5. Infrastructure Management for Public Libraries
6. Strategic Planning for Public Libraries
7. Grant Writing and Crowdfunding for Public Libraries
8. Public Library Marketing and Public Relations
Identifying Community Needs for Public Library Management
Learn how to conduct research, surveys, and interviews as well as how to analyze data to better assess the local needs and wants of a public library community.
About this course
Public libraries are becoming dynamic hubs for learning, civic engagement, and community.
This course will discuss strategies for gathering statistical and descriptive data about public library communities. Learners will identify local partners in education, social services, government agencies, and more.
While conducting real-world investigations, learners will gain deeper insight into the wants and needs of community organizations. This will empower learners to make better management decisions to address those needs, even in libraries with limited budgets.
What you'll learn
How to find demographic and personal data from online sources;
- To conduct environmental scans;
- How to lead focus groups and interviews;
- How to analyze data to find patterns, overlaps, and gaps in available community services;
- To synthesize your findings in a report.
Syllabus
- Lesson 1: Why Study Community Needs?
- Lesson 2: Environmental Scanning
- Lesson 3: Found Data
- Lesson 4: Surveys
- Lesson 5: Reviewing Survey Data
- Lesson 6: Interviews
- Lesson 7: Synthesis
Managing a Diverse and Inclusive Workplace for Public Libraries
Learn management skills to support workplace diversity and inclusion in a public library setting.
About this course
Learn management skills to support workplace diversity and inclusion in a public library setting.
You will learn about theories and frameworks that explain the underlying mechanisms of the impacts of diversity and learn how to understand and address the needs of women and underrepresented minorities (e.g. race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity, marital status, age, sexual orientation, and citizenship).
You will learn how employment practices such as recruitment, selection, promotion, salary, training and development impact an organization’s ability to attract, retain, and manage a diverse workforce.
Lastly, you will recognize what organizational changes can be made to help organizations maximize the potential of all workers.
What you'll learn
- Definition and types of diversity.
- Multifaceted Aspects of diversity.
- Management solutions for an inclusive and diverse workplace.
- Organizational changes to support diversity.
Personnel Management for Public Libraries
Learn the foundational principles of personnel management and leadership.
This course, part of the Public Library Management Professional Certificate program, will explore skills needed for hiring and evaluating personnel to reflect your library's mission through an organizational culture that will thrive in your community. Learners will understand the legal considerations when managing a diverse workforce.
- Organizational culture from an HR perspective
- How to write and evaluate job descriptions
- A basic understanding of the laws pertaining to hiring (Federal and State)
- How to evaluate and develop a budget for staffing costs
- How to determine if the budget allows for staffing priorities as described in the organizational chart
- How to create and utilize performance evaluations
- How to identify needed policies that allow for a healthy and competitive hiring
Syllabus
- Can you afford the Library you wish to lead?
- Are your people able to get the job done?
- Do you have the right people doing the work?
- Do your policies allow you the flexibility to offer a healthy and competitive hiring environment?
Budgeting and Finance for Public Libraries
Understand financial concepts as well as effective practices in budgeting and auditing for library managers at all levels.
About this course
Money isn’t generally the first topic that comes to mind when thinking about libraries, however it is a critical resource that touches every aspect of the organization. Whether you are an aspiring manager or a library director, it is important that your organization’s finances are aligned with your service goals and priorities.
This course, part of the Public Library Management Professional Certificate program, will help you understand how to build a budget, read financial reports, and plan for the long-term sustainability of your library.
What you'll learn
- Budgeting and financial concepts and terms as they apply to public libraries
- How to analyze financial reports
- The decision making and strategies that go into creating a budget
- Best practices in establishing financial controls and procedures
- How today’s financial decisions can impact future sustainability of your organization
- How to develop a financial forecast
Syllabus
1. Introduction
2. Starting with a Piece of the Budget
3. Expenditures
4. Forecasting Expenditures
5. Revenues
6. Building the Budget
7. Financial Management, Auditing, and Control
8. Planning for the Future
Infrastructure Management for Public Libraries
Learn how library managers and directors make key operational decisions regarding maintenance, insurance, technology, and more.
About this course
In this course, part of the Public Library Management Professional Certificate program, we’ll explore the ongoing infrastructure support that library leaders must facilitate, including:
You’ll learn how these decisions are made to ensure long-term sustainability.
What you'll learn
In this course, part of the Public Library Management Professional Certificate program, we’ll explore the ongoing infrastructure support that library leaders must facilitate, including:
- maintenance
- insurance
- contract services
- patron privacy
- technology
- budgets
- policies
You’ll learn how these decisions are made to ensure long-term sustainability.
What you'll learn
- How to discuss, contract, and manage services from outside providers.
- How to make decisions about technology policies, eRATE for Internet services, etc.
- How to set up annual and long-term maintenance budgets and schedules.
- How to post a maintenance job for bid.
Strategic Planning for Public Libraries
Learn how to develop, implement, and adapt a strategic plan to fit the needs of your library.
About this course
About this course
In this course, part of the Public Library Management Professional Certificate program, we’ll explore the nuts and bolts of creating a strategic plan by reviewing and reflecting on the strategic plans of a variety of library types.
Strategic planning is a strategy for setting an organization’s goals, vision, and desired future. You’ll learn how library leaders, in partnership with trustees, library boards, and/or municipal leadership, use strategic planning to set long-term goals as well as identify the necessary funding priorities, staffing needs, and other elements needed for success.
You’ll also learn how an effective strategic plan is more than mere paperwork: it is an ongoing planning, action, and reflection process that can engage all stakeholders in a common set of expectations and action steps for the future.
What you'll learn
- The value of and guiding framework for strategic planning
- How to identify funding priorities, staff needs, and infrastructure needed to reach a strategic planning goal
- How to establish effective communication with and input from stakeholders, including board members, municipal officials, staff, and the public
- How to craft a strategic plan and integrate it into your management workflow to ensure success
- How to adapt your plan when changes arise in your organization
Grant Writing and Crowdfunding for Public Libraries
Learn how to increase your impact, innovate, and overcome often static funding through various fundraising and grant writing approaches.
About this course
This course, part of the Public Library Management Professional Certificate program, explores strategies for developing effective grant proposals and for engaging the community in crowdfunding campaigns.
In this course, you will mock up a crowdfunding campaign and create a grant proposal for a local or state-level funding source.
What you'll learn
- How to read a grant application and understand what organizations are looking for
- How to keep a file of go-to grant writing materials
- Strategies for crafting a strong grant proposal
- Crowdfunding stories and strategies
Syllabus
Weekly themes tentatively scheduled to include:
- Introduction
- Reviewing grant criteria and sponsors
- Building a team and a vision
- Assembling a grant proposal
- Crowdsourcing
Public Library Marketing and Public Relations
Learn how to develop effective marketing and PR strategies to help share your library’s programs, services, and value with the broader community.
About this course
In this course, part of the Public Library Management Professional Certificate program, you’ll learn how to use attractive graphic design, public relations outreach with the media, and paid marketing to better communicate about your library and, in the case of social media, build better conversations and relationships with patrons.
Solutions at multiple budget points (e.g., DIY software versus working with a designer) will also be discussed.
What you'll learn
- Difference between marketing, branding, and public relations (PR)
- How to develop DIY marketing solutions as well as work with professional designers
- Media outreach and PR strategies
Syllabus
Weekly themes tentatively scheduled to cover:
- Introduction
- DIY Marketing
- Working effectively with a graphic designer
- Social media strategies
- Working with the press
