Standards and Accreditation

Draft of Revised In Service to Iowa:  Public Library Measures of Quality.

• There was an information session about the draft over the ICN on Thursday, July 22.  Comments collected from that session and received by email can be found in this pdf Document.
• Many changes where made to the draft based on comments received. The final draft was submitted to the Iowa Commission of Libraries for approval on August 16, 2010. The Commission approved the draft on that date.
• Draft of Revised In Service to Iowa - This is the manual for the State Library's standards program and is the basis for distributing Direct State Aid. This is the draft copy approved by the Commission. Updated 08/31/2010.
  

Moratorium Effective 11/16/2009

The State Library is implementing a one-year moratorium on reporting progress toward meeting standards and on new standards applications.

• With the help of the Public Library Standards Advisory Task Force, we will revise and update the 4th edition of In Service to Iowa:  Public Library Measures of Quality by August 2010.

• Direct State Aid funding for FY10 is being calculated based on your FY09 tier status. As of November 16, 2009, the accreditation and tier status of all public libraries are frozen. No accreditation reports will be due in February of 2010. Enrich Iowa-Direct State Aid payments for FY11 will be based on each library’s tier status as of November 2009. During FY11, (7/1/2010-6/30/2011) no library’s tier status will be reduced.
• All libraries will be given an extra year before they need to file a new report or accreditation application. For example, if you were due to file a new report or application for 2012, your new filing date would be 2013.

Please contact Scott Dermont at the State Library if your library is in a position to move up a tier level.

• Note that the moratorium applies only to your tier level status. The Direct State Aid report and Public Library Annual Survey, the other requirements for Direct State Aid, still must be submitted on time.

 The time-line for this transition is as follows:

• The basis for the Public Library Standards and Accreditation program is In Service to Iowa: Public Library Measures of Quality, which is currently in its fourth edition and last updated in 2003-2004. During the moratorium, State Library staff and the Public Library Standards Advisory Task Force will develop the fifth edition of the standards.

• We want to emphasize that the State Library’s Standards and Accreditation Program continues, and that the standards remain in effect during the moratorium period. The Standards and Accreditation program has helped improve public library services for Iowans, and we look forward to continuing to work with Iowa’s public libraries in this area.
  
  

Accreditation Files and Web Sites

List of fully accredited (Tier 3) public libraries as of May 27, 2010. Updated weekly through June 30, 2010.

• Non-Accredited Libraries Tier Status - FY11

  List of non-accredited libraries (Tier 0-2) with Tier status as of May 27, 2010. Updated weekly through June 30, 2010.

• In Service to Iowa 4th ed.

  The 75 standards listed in In Service to Iowa are the basis for Enrich Iowa's Direct State Aid program.

• Explanation of Tiers and Standards, 4th ed.

  An explanation of the Standards for Tier 1, Tier 2 and Tier 3 of Enrich Iowa.
  
  

Background

The State Library documents the condition of public library service in Iowa (Code of Iowa (256.51 (j)) by requiring public libraries to submit accreditation reports.

Iowa’s public library accreditation program has been in place since 1986 based on In Service to Iowa:  Public Library Measure of Quality, 1985. The library community revised In Service to Iowa:  Public Library Measures of Quality in 1989, 1997 and 2004. A new revised edition will be available in November, 2010.