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This online Graduate Certificate in School Librarianship program was created by Mizzou’s College of Education and Human Development. It was designed for professional educators who want to step into the role of school librarian. You’ll learn from our esteemed faculty in the School of Information Science and Learning Technologies as you study how to manage information systems and support student learning in a librarian’s role.
If you’re already a certified Missouri teacher, this certificate adds onto your license. If your teaching license has expired, taking these courses can help you renew your license.
About the School Librarianship program
The graduate certificate is a 12-credit-hour program that can be completed in one year. It’s 100% online and requires no campus visits.
Upon completing the program, you’ll need to pass the Missouri Content Assessment in school librarianship to be certified by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education as a school librarian.
Note: the Missouri Content Assessment is not administered by or affiliated with the University of Missouri.
This certificate also provides a pathway to a Master of Library and Information Science degree. The credits you earn with the school librarianship program would apply to the master’s degree.
Quick facts
Official name
Graduate Certificate in School LibrarianshipCampus
Program type
Graduate certificateAcademic home
College of Education & Human Development | School of Information Science and Learning TechnologiesDelivery mode
100% onlineAccreditation
Higher Learning CommissionCredit hours
12Estimated cost
$7,291.20*This cost is for illustrative purposes only. Your hours and costs will differ, depending on your transfer hours, your course choices and your academic progress. See more about tuition and financial aid.
Career prospects
Graduates of the program could obtain careers as the following:
- School librarian.
- School media specialist.
Program structure
This graduate certificate program is completely online. Courses are entirely online with some synchronous meetings via Zoom. All required synchronous meetings are listed during registration. It typically takes about one year to complete the program.
Coursework includes
- Organizing information to serve your students' needs
- Managing collections
- Foundational understanding of libraries and information science
- Managing and administration of school libraries
Review all requirements for the online Graduate Certificate in School Librarianship program.
Delivery
100% onlineCalendar system
Semester-basedTypical program length
1-2 yearsTypical course load
1-3 classes per semesterAccreditation
The University of Missouri is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, one of six regional institutional accreditors in the United States.
Faculty spotlight
Denice Adkins is a professor and the director of the School of Information Science and Learning Technologies at the University of Missouri. Dr. Adkins' research interests include public libraries, services to the Latinx community and other underserved populations, reader advisory research, and youth services.
Prior to her academic career, Dr. Adkins was a public librarian serving diverse communities in the southwestern United States. Her additional past experiences include a Fulbright Scholarship to Honduras and a Fulbright Specialist to India, as well as serving as president and treasurer of REFORMA (The National Association to Promote Library & Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish-Speaking), executive board for ALISE, councilor-at-large for the American Library Association, co-editor for the Journal of Education for Library & Information Science, and board member for Missouri Library Association.
Dr. Beth Brendler is an Associate Teaching Professor in the iSchool at the University of Missouri. Her areas of interest include the sociocultural aspects of literacy, inclusive library services to diverse and underserved populations, and the socialization of children and adolescents through literature and media. The majority of her research has been on the sociocultural aspects of literacy, as well as literature and library services for underserved and marginalized youth.
Her research has examined rural school libraries as resources of community mental health literacy, library collections and services for LGBTQIA+ children and adolescents, intersectionality in self-published LGBTQIA+ eBook fiction, gender and literary response, identity and classroom book discussion, children’s and adolescent literature about marginalized populations, gender construction in children’s and adolescent literature, and socioeconomic status and literacy.
Cynthia Dudenhoffer is a teaching professor and associate director for the School of Information Science & Learning Technologies at the University of Missouri. Previously, she held the role of Director of Information Resources and Assessment at Central Methodist University. She has served in many leadership roles locally and nationally, including president of the Missouri Library Association. She also serves as a professional consultant in areas of academic library accreditation, program review, project management, and leadership through innovation. Areas of expertise include emerging technologies in information agencies and data literacy.