Nebraska Library Commission details accreditation rules, deadlines and funding at 2025 workshop

Krista Porter, library development director at the Nebraska Library Commission, led an online Public Library Accreditation workshop in 2025 to review the commission's accreditation program, application timeline, required documents and ties to state funding and grants.

Porter said the application portal "goes live" on July 1 and that accredited libraries must submit two items by Oct. 1: the online accreditation application and a community needs response plan. "A library's accreditation is good for 5 years now," she said, noting the Commission changed the reaccreditation interval from three to five years after a program review in 2022.

The workshop was aimed at library directors, trustees and other staff and covered why Nebraska's voluntary accreditation matters, how it is scored, what libraries must submit and the benefits of accreditation.

Why it matters: accreditation ties to money and program eligibility. Porter outlined the Commission's state aid formula and said libraries must be accredited to receive state aid. Accreditation at the Commission's silver or gold levels yields an additional $200 or $400, respectively, on top of a library's base state aid payment. Porter also listed four Commission-administered grants that require accreditation to apply — continuing education and training grants, internship grants, library improvement grants (recently moved to state funding), and youth grants for excellence — and said the Nebraska Department of Economic Development requires accreditation for community development block grant (CDBG) applications for construction or renovation projects.

Key requirements and schedule: Porter reviewed the Commission's 12 minimum qualifications that all libraries must meet to apply, including being legally established under Nebraska statutes (ordained by the local municipality) and having a library board with at least five members. She emphasized that accreditation is not automatic and must be maintained year-to-year: libraries must continue to submit the national public library survey annually and meet the 12 minimums during the five-year accreditation period. Porter said the Commission will notify libraries up for reaccreditation and eligible non-accredited libraries by email on July 1. After submission, she reviews applications and the community needs response plan together and aims to complete evaluations by Dec. 31.

Scoring and program changes: Nebraska uses a points-based accreditation system introduced in 2013. Porter explained there are 275 possible points on the application, with 175 required for bronze, 200 for silver and 250 for gold. The switch in 2022 lengthened accreditation to five years (from three) and added several updates, including computer security questions.

Certifications and continuing education: Porter explained that board certification and librarian certification are separate requirements tied to accreditation. Board certification requires a library board to earn 20 continuing-education hours over a three-year certification period (collected as a board total, not per person). Individual librarian certification requires 45 hours over three years. She described provisional certification rules, confirmed provisional records count toward current accreditation when the Commission can see a board or staff member is actively working toward full certification, and noted the Commission runs basic-skills online courses for staff who do not hold library degrees.

Application mechanics and evidence: The Commission pre-fills parts of the online form from the national public library survey and a supplemental survey. Many program guidelines are peer comparisons: a library is compared to other libraries within about ±15% of its legal service-area population for items such as local income, hours, circulation and collection metrics. Porter urged libraries to check that prefilled items match current conditions and to contact staff if updates are needed. She also demonstrated how the form tallies points as applicants check items and how applicants can save and resume the form before final submission.

Cybersecurity and technology questions: Porter highlighted new security-related questions added in 2022 and encouraged libraries to address them. Examples include whether a library runs end-of-life operating systems (she noted Windows 10 support ends in October 2025), whether software and operating systems are updated monthly, whether staff and public logins are separated, and whether the library uses DNS filtering or other filtering services. Porter identified Andrew ("Sherm") Sherman, the commission's IT staff, as the contact for technical assistance and described a Commission-provided DNS filtering service and other IT support.

Community needs response plan: The workshop covered the separate community needs response plan that must accompany the application. Porter described the seven elements the plan must include: a mission statement, a community profile (demographics/trends), an assessment of community needs, an analysis of library strengths/resources and barriers, a summary interpretation, at least three SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, time-bound) goals tied to community needs, and an evaluation plan describing annual review. She demonstrated resources and worksheets the Commission provides for gathering census data, designing outreach or surveys, and drafting the plan, and reminded participants that previously submitted plans may be updated rather than rewritten from scratch.

Questions and clarifications: During Q&A Porter clarified common points: the public library survey is mandatory for state aid and must be submitted annually; CE hours do not roll over between certification periods; libraries may be granted extensions to the Oct. 1 deadline for valid reasons (new directors, natural disasters, major construction); a provisional certification counts while staff or board members finish requirements; and submitting regular board minutes to a municipal governing body counts as routine communication. She also said the Commission will give flexibility on deadlines when warranted and will perform follow-up reviews if items cited on an application are not evident online (for example, published policies or a mission statement on a library website).

What comes next: Porter told attendees she will email libraries that are due for reaccreditation and eligible non-accredited libraries on July 1 with links to the live application form. She said recordings of the workshop and related Encompass Live webinars are available through the Commission's site for staff who need an overview or to claim CE hours for attendance.

Porter closed by encouraging libraries to use the resources the Commission posts, to contact Commission staff for help, and to submit drafts of community needs response plans if they want feedback before final submission.