The University of Georgia’s Carl Vinson Institute of Government provides library staff the tools they need to successfully handle their libraries’ finances through the online Library Financial Management Certification Program. The program is available as a self-guided online series or in a cohort format through a library partner.

“We use a lot of the same principles taught in our Level One and Level Two Finance Officer programs, but we right-size them for the issues that libraries deal with on a day-to-day basis,” said Tracy Arner, assistant director at the Institute of Government and creator of the Library Financial Management Certification program.

For years, the Institute of Government has worked with the Georgia Public Library Service (GPLS) to train library staff throughout Georgia. The current Georgia cohort began July 1 and will run through April 2025.

“In our libraries, we always strive to be good stewards of the local, state and federal funding allocated to us, and this course ensures that our libraries are confident and well-positioned to manage that all-important financial side of our operations,” said Julie Walker, assistant vice chancellor and state librarian.

The Library Financial Management Certification program began as an in-person class offering. As demand grew, the institute adapted the program to an online format. 

“We realized we needed to make it available more frequently as new Georgia library business managers were hired. We created the online version to meet this need,” Arner said.

Christopher Evans, GPLS finance director for libraries, said the online format is a convenient way to ensure that library business managers throughout the state have the training they need to effectively handle their libraries’ finances.

“Being able to train our library directors with basic financial skills has been priceless,” Evans said. “The beautiful thing about the program through the Institute of Government is that it really gives people a strong foundation in governmental accounting and governmental best business practices. I think that is so important for everyone.”

Kim Spencer, Coastal Plains Regional Library System’s CFO, completed the program in 2017 and said the best practices she learned in setting budgets, adapting policies and processing transactions continue to benefit her library system.

“I have an accounting degree, but there’s not a lot of governmental accounting coverage in accounting school. I wanted to learn more about the rules and regulations that are applied to libraries,” Spencer said. “It’s hard to find library specific financial training, and it was really exciting to learn all of these library specific things from experts who work in libraries and government.”

Because the program’s content is applicable beyond state lines, Arner said expanding the reach of the program to other U.S. libraries was a natural progression of the service. She promoted the series at the 2020 Public Library Association (PLA) national conference in Nashville, Tennessee, where she connected with representatives from the Library of Michigan, the institute’s first out-of-state client for the online cohort program.

“My former division director had heard about the program, so I went to the PLA conference in Nashville before the coronavirus pandemic. I was specifically looking for Tracy,” said Karren Reish, library grants manager for the Library of Michigan. “We needed to do some financial training, and the cohort model has worked with other topics. It’s working very well for us.”

The Institute of Government partners with the Library of Michigan to offer the certification program as an annual online cohort. The partnership’s third cohort will graduate 24 students in August.  

The online certification program includes six courses delivered via recorded webinars. Self-guided students have 30 days to complete each session. Students who complete all six courses within three years earn Library Financial Management Certification, which they can maintain with continuing education through the institute every two years.

Students who participate in a cohort have the added benefit of live virtual discussions and an 11-month timeline.

“Anything finance related was always intimidating to me, so the thing that was so valuable about this class for me was that it brought all of that together. It really gave a framework for the knowledge that I already have and then supplemented it,” said Tera Moon, director of the Bloomfield Township Public Library in Michigan. “I truly feel that I’m coming out of this class with a newfound confidence.”

The institute’s expertise has filled a need for library professionals, and its impact is more than basic accounting.

“When you get a master’s degree in library science, they don’t really teach you the things that we teach in this program, which are the business principles,” Arner said.