December 16, 2022

The Alabama Public Library Service is pleased to announce our new trustee training series that is found in the Niche APLS Academy for Librarians at https://my.nicheacademy.com/aplsacademy/pathway/55644.

The training series features 11 videos on a variety of topics including: The Alabama Code 1975, State Aid, Ethics, Parliamentary Proceedures, Bylaws, Planning, Open Meetings Act, APLS Services, Policy, Funding, and Director/Trustee Roles. This new training is replacing the United for Libraries Short Takes for Trustees videos.

APLS will invite your trustees to complete this new training in their own Niche Academy called "APLS Required Trustee Training." Our agency will use the email addresses that were provided as part of the FY22 Public Library Survey, so it is essential to update these email addresses if they have recently changed. Note, every public library board needs to have at least two trustees who have completed training serving at all times to remain eligible for state aid. If you already have two trustees serving on your board who have completed the United for Libaries Short Takes, it is not required for them to complete this new training, though they are welcome to do so.

Niche Academy will track completions and issue a certificate for each video watched and one for finishing the entire training series. Videos in this series must be watched in order. Once a trustee receives the invitation to join the APLS Trustee Training Academy that is required, they can set up their account to view these training materials.

Note, if you prefer to have your trustees watch the APLS Academy training videos as a group under your Niche account, the certificate will be in your name. Please notify us about the trustees in attendance so we can give them credit for completing the training for state aid purposes.

If you have any questions about the trustee training, please email Rhonda Napier or Stephanie Taylor.