Public Library Services

Per the Code of Virginia, § 42.1-15.1, public libraries serving a political subdivision or subdivisions having a population greater than 15,000 and libraries operated by the Commonwealth or under its authority, shall not employ, in the position of librarian or in any other full-time professional librarian position, a person who does not meet the qualifications established by the State Library Board.

A professional librarian position as used in this section is one that requires a knowledge of books and of library technique equivalent to that required for graduation from any accredited library school or one that requires graduation from a school of library science accredited by the American Library Association. If you have not received a degree from an institution in the American Library Association’s Directory of Institutions Offering Accredited Master’s Programs in Library & Information Studies, you are not eligible to receive a Librarian's Professional Certificate.

No funds derived from any state aid shall be paid to any person whose employment does not comply with this section. This section shall not apply to law libraries organized pursuant to Chapter 4 (§ 42.1-60 et seq.), libraries in colleges and universities or to public school libraries. (1988, c. 716; 2004, c. 559; 2006, c. 539; 2012, c. 296.)

Fill out and submit the Application for Librarian's Professional Certificate

Include the following items when submitting the application:
* Completed Application
* A copy of your graduate transcript (official or unofficial) which includes your academic record (grades), the type of degree you received, and the date your degree was conferred.

Please note, the following documents are not acceptable as documentation unless accompanied by transcript:
* Copy of diploma
* DegreeVerify certificate
* Copy of professional librarian's certificate from another state

Please verify that your library school is accredited by the American Library Association. If you have questions or need clarification, please contact Cindy Church, (804) 692-3773.

The Library of Virginia provides an array of online content to Virginia public libraries to ensure that all residents of the Commonwealth can have access to digital resources that support students and lifelong learners. You can access the resources in the Find It Virginia collection through your local public library’s website. View all the Find It Virginia resources.

A partnership between the Library of Virginia, Virginia State Parks and the Science Museum of Virginia provides 87 library systems with nearly 800 nature backpacks. Available to check out at your local public library, the backpacks help families learn about nature in their backyard, in a local park or at one of Virginia's 43 state parks.

Nearly all Virginia State Parks charge a per car parking fee for entrance, which the nature backpack pass covers. Two parks charge a per person fee: Natural Bridge and Southwest Virginia Museum state parks. The nature backpack parking pass covers admission for four people at those two parks. Backpacks also include pocket guides to bugs and slugs, animal tracks, Virginia birds, mammals, Virginia trees and wildflowers and geology; a port-a-bug field observation container; a magnifying lens; a dip net; a compass and binoculars; a ruler; forceps; a Big Foot–themed Leave No Trace Ethics Card; and laminated sheets with suggested activities designed by both Virginia State Parks and the Science Museum of Virginia.

Research shows that children who read for pleasure in the summer do better and forget less when they go back to school. And it's not just in reading. Kids who don't read over the summer can slide backward in all subject areas. This means the summer months and other breaks from school offer great opportunities for families and caregivers to help improve reading and writing.

The Library of Virginia supports your library's summer learning programs with federal funds provided by the Institute of Museum of Library Services (IMLS) through the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA). Contact your local public library to find out more about the summer reading program.

Find daily activities related to reading and childhood literacy on the Library of Virginia’s Family Literacy Calendar.

Expenditures Per Capita reflects the community's financial support for the library in relation to its size. However, operating expenditures (personnel, collections, and general operations) from other sources such as state aid and grants are included. Capital expenditures that vary dramatically from year to year are not included.

Expenditures Per Capita Spreadsheet (2019-2023)
Expenditures Per Capita Spreadsheet (2018-2022)
Expenditures Per Capita Spreadsheet (2017-2021)
Expenditures Per Capita Spreadsheet (2016-2020)
Expenditures Per Capita Spreadsheet (2015-2019)
Expenditures Per Capita Spreadsheet (2014-2018)

Holdings Per Capita is one measure of the match between the size of the library's collection and the community it serves. It assesses collection size, not quality. This measure should be interpreted in connection with Turnover Rate and Circulation Per Capita. Size alone is not an indicator of quality or usefulness.

Holdings Per Capita Spreadsheet (2019-2023)
Holdings Per Capita Spreadsheet (2017-2021)
Holdings Per Capita Spreadsheet (2016-2020)
Holdings Per Capita Spreadsheet (2015-2019)
Holdings Per Capita Spreadsheet (2014-2018)

Library Visits Per Capita is one measure of the community's use of the library, whether for materials, programs, or meetings. It can be thought of as representing the average number of times during a year that each member of the community uses the library. A high number of visits indicates heavy use. A low number of visits may indicate several things. For example, (1) the hours the library is open does not fit the needs of the community; (2) the library's collection and programming does not meet the interest or needs of the community; (3) residents may be unaware of what the library has to offer; (4) the facility may be uninviting; (5) the location may be inconvenient.

Library Visits Per Capita Spreadsheet (2019-2023)
Library Visits Per Capita Spreadsheet (2018-2022)
Library Visits Per Capita Spreadsheet (2017-2021)
Library Visits Per Capita Spreadsheet (2016-2020)
Library Visits Per Capita Spreadsheet (2015-2019)
Library Visits Per Capita Spreadsheet (2014-2018)

Turnover rate measures the use of the library's circulating collection. It indicates the number of times each item would have circulated during the year if circulation had been spread evenly throughout the collection. A library that emphasizes the circulation of popular reading materials should have a higher turnover rate than a library that emphasizes the breadth of its collection and has an extensive noncirculating reference collection.

Turnover Rate Spreadsheet (2019-2023)
Turnover Rate Spreadsheet (2018-2022)
Turnover Rate Spreadsheet (2017-2021)
Turnover Rate Spreadsheet (2016-2020)
Turnover Rate Spreadsheet (2015-2019)
Turnover Rate Spreadsheet (2014-2018)

In order to qualify for grants-in-aid, all libraries serving more than 5,000 persons must meet the following requirements by July 1, 1992:

1. Be organized under the appropriate section of the Code of Virginia. Not more than one library in a county or regional library system or a municipal government unit may receive a grant.

2. Submit to the State Library Board:
* Charter, resolution, or other legal papers under which they are organized.
* A copy of the by-laws of the board of trustees, a list of trustees, revised as changes occur.
* A five-year plan, adopted by the governing body of the library service in the area (areas) served. In order to receive continuing grants, this plan must be updated annually.
* A written statement of policy covering such items as: service, personnel, and maintenance of book collections and other materials.
* A copy of the budget for the expenditure of local funds, not including anticipated state and federal funds. This must be submitted annually.

3. Have local operating expenditures of at least 50% of the median statewide local operating expenditures per capita, two - thirds of which must be from taxation or endowment. The median shall be recalculated each biennium. Libraries obtaining aid for the first time or those falling below the 50% median must meet the requirement within five years. Libraries which fall below 50% of the median in local expenditures per capita must submit a plan to the State Library Board for reaching the minimum requirement. The plan must include a schedule of annual increases in local expenditures of not less than 20% of the amount needed to attain local per capita expenditures of 50% of the median within five years.

Local operating expenditures from taxation or endowment for any library, or library system, shall not fall below that of the previous year. In cases where the budgets of all the departments of the local government are reduced below those of the previous year, the library's state grant-in-aid would be reduced. The State Library may require that the amount of such reduction in the library's total expenditure be subtracted from the library's eligibility and that the state grant be reduced accordingly. If the library's budget is reduced and other agencies' budgets are not, then the library would receive no state grant-in- aid and would be ineligible for one until local expenditures shall have again reached or exceeded the local effort at the time of the last previous grant.

The library would be ineligible for any federal funds if local funds are reduced below that of the previous year.

Grants-in-aid shall be used as supplements to local funds.

The amount of any undesignated balance in the local operating budget at the end of the fiscal year which exceeds 10% will be subtracted from the grant which is based on that years expenditures.

4. Have certified librarians in positions as required by state law. Libraries failing to employ a certified librarian in the position of director will have their state aid grant reduced by 25%.

5. Keep open a headquarters library or centrally located branch at least 40 hours a week for a full range of library services. This schedule must include at least three consecutive evening hours an appropriate weekend hours. Evening hours are defined as the hours after 5 p.m.

6. Maintain an up-to-date reference collection and set up procedures for securing materials from other libraries through interlibrary loan.
* Organize materials for convenient use through shelf arrangement, classification and cataloging, and provide a catalog of its resources.
* Stimulate use of materials through publicity, displays, reading lists, story hours, book talks, book and film discussions and other appropriate means.
* Lend guidance in all outlets to individuals in the use of informational, educational, and recreational materials.
* Maintain a collection of currently useful materials by annual additions and systematic removal of items no longer useful to maintain the purposes of quality of its resources. Have a telephone and the number of the telephone listed in the local telephone directory.
* Provide the basic services listed in this section free of charge to the public as required by law.

7. Every regional, county, and city library serving an area of more than 400 square miles, or more than 25,000 persons, must provide some form of extension service acceptable to the board.

8. If the library system has two or more service units, either branches or stations, it must maintain a scheduled, frequent delivery system.

9.The Library Board may, at its discretion, make exceptions for a specified period of time to any single requirement listed above. The exception will be made only if the library can show that a real effort has been made to meet the requirement and that significant progress has been made toward meeting this requirement.

Approved by the State Library Board, March 13, 1991.

To be eligible for a state aid grant, a library must:

Comply with the Requirements of The Library Board (last amended in 1991). The major change affected requirement #3 - the "50% of the median local operating expenditure per capita" replaced a requirement of expenditures of at least $2.00 per capita.

Apply for the grant by June 1 of each year

Code of Virginia § 42.1-1: The Library of Virginia is hereby declared an educational institution of learning. The Library of Virginia shall be the library agency of the Commonwealth, the archival agency of the Commonwealth, and the reference at the seat of government. It shall have the following powers and duties:

Code of Virginia § 42.1-1(6): To give direction, assistance and counsel to all libraries in the Commonwealth, to all communities which may propose to establish libraries, and to all persons interested in public libraries, as to means of establishment and administration of such libraries, selection of books, retrieval systems, cataloguing, maintenance, and other details of library management, and to conduct such inspections as are necessary;

Code of Virginia § 42.1-1(7): To engage in such activities in aid of city, county, town, regional and other public libraries as will serve to develop the library system of the Commonwealth;

Code of Virginia § 42.1-1(8): To administer and distribute state and federal library funds in accordance with the law and its own regulations to the city, county, town and regional libraries of the Commonwealth.

Code of Virginia § 41.1-48 contains the formula.

Local effort: 40% of every [local] dollar expended by the political subdivision(s) in the system. The grant to any county or city shall not exceed $250,000.

Plus

Per capita: Based on population of area served and number of participating municipalities
30 cents for the first 600,000 persons served (county or city library) plus 10 cents per capita for each additional jurisdiction (regional)

Libraries serving in excess of 600,000 receive 10 cents per capita for remaining population
Plus

Square mileage: $10 per square mile for single jurisdiction (county or city) libraries plus an additional $20 per square mile for libraries serving more than one political jurisdiction (regionals).

The Governing Board – Virginia Public Libraries Trustee Handbook (2019) is a key resource for trustees responsible for the library’s legal and financial oversight. It outlines the board’s role in shaping the library’s mission, adopting policies, managing budgets, and overseeing the hiring and evaluation of the library director. The handbook emphasizes the importance of effective board structure, productive meetings, and long-term planning. Trustees are guided on fiscal responsibilities, legal requirements, and employment matters. With practical tools like sample documents and best practices, the handbook equips trustees to lead effectively and help ensure the library’s ongoing success.

Download the Virginia Public Library Trustee Handbook for Governing Boards

Planning for Library Excellence (PLE), recently revised in 2023, sets practical goals to enhance library services across Virginia, focusing on equity, diversity, and accessibility. This dynamic tool offers benchmarks for improvement and ensures libraries meet community needs. PLE emphasizes practicality and achievability and provides incentives for service enhancement. It offers guidance on library size, budget justification, and staff development while encouraging continuous planning. Updated regularly to reflect technological advances and evolving community needs, PLE ensures that libraries deliver exemplary, equitable services to all residents, striving for excellence in serving diverse populations and fostering inclusive environments.

Download Planning for Library Excellence: Standards for Virginia Public Libraries, 2019 

The Strategic Planning Workbook for Virginia Public Libraries (2023) is a practical resource designed to guide libraries in creating and executing their strategic plans. It helps libraries define their identity, mission, and vision while engaging the community to set priorities. The workbook provides clear tools for turning plans into action, including outcome-based evaluations and methods for reporting progress. It also ensures alignment with state aid requirements. With helpful templates, examples, and resources, this workbook equips libraries to develop a clear, actionable path forward, reflecting community needs and supporting growth, sustainability, and continued success within Virginia’s public libraries.

Download the Strategic Planning for VPL 2023 workbook