Public Library Services to Children and Young Adults

The Graduate Certificate in Public Library Services to Children and Young Adults (PLSCYA) was developed in response to a growing shift in public libraries towards creating children and youth services departments staffed with dedicated professionals who have a specific knowledge and skill set in this area. This certificate would be beneficial to any information professional who would like to support the literacy needs of children and young adults in public library settings.

We prepare future information professionals to serve the diverse literacy needs of children and young adults through culturally responsive, age-appropriate materials and programming. We encourage library programming built on the principles of connected learning, which forges links between youth's academics and personal passions to create new pathways to college, career, and civic pursuits.

The PLSCYA certificate program offerings are designed to cultivate the expansive skill set that today's youth services librarians must have including website development, programming, and children and young adult literature courses.

The Graduate Certificate in Public Library Services to Children and Young Adults is for:

• Practicing library professionals who need to advance their competency in the field of children and youth services.
• SIS graduate students wishing to pursue a professional career in children and youth services.
• Graduate students from other disciplines and professions who wish public library and youth services skills to aid their organizations in meeting community needs.

Children and young adults comprise a high proportion of the patrons of public libraries from large urban library systems to suburban library districts to small rural independent libraries. Services to children and young adults requires specialized training in the development of programs, the creation of effective collections, and the skills necessary to collaborate with community organizations who serve children and young adults.

The certificate may be completed in conjunction with the MLIS degree or as a post-MLIS certificate. The 15-credit Public Library Services to Children and Young Adults Certificate program includes 9 credits of required coursework and 6 credits of electives.

Please note that the Public Library Services to Children and Young Adults Certificate is available to students in the Online MLIS Program.

Students interested in pursuing only the Public Library Services to Children and Young Adults certificate should review the SIS Certificate policy. Before enrolling in the certificate program, students must meet the program's technology requirements.

Required Classes

To obtain the Public Library Services to Children and Young Adults Graduate Certificate, students must complete the following classes:

• INF 6420 Introduction to Web Development
• INF 7250 (pdf) Programming for Children and Young Adults
• INF 7340 (pdf) Collection Development

Elective Classes

To fulfill the requirements of the Public Library Services to Children and Young Adults Graduate Certificate, students must choose two (minimum) of the following courses:

• INF 6520 Beyond Books: Youth Literature in Action
• INF 6530 Young Adult Literature
• INF 6850 Issues in Librarianship (with permission of Certificate Lead Instructor)
• INF 7880 (pdf) Instructional Methods for Librarians
• INF 7950 (pdf) Practicum: Library Services

International applicants must complete the equivalent of a U.S. four-year bachelor's degree, including all state and external/internal examinations required for the degree. Some three-year general degrees (from Canada, India, Pakistan, France, Lebanon, etc.) may not be equivalent to a four-year U.S. bachelor's degree. However, if you have completed an honors degree, additional undergraduate coursework beyond the three-year bachelor's degree, or a graduate degree, you may be considered for admission.

If you are applying to a master's program, your minimum undergraduate GPA must be 2.75 or its equivalent in upper division coursework. If you are applying to a doctoral program, your minimum undergraduate GPA must be 3.0 or its equivalent in upper division coursework.

Submit your transcript(s)

To begin the application review, upload unofficial copies of English-translated international transcripts from all post-secondary educational institutions from which you earned a bachelor's degree or higher, including Mark Sheets, if applicable. If you are admitted, you must submit an official course-by-course academic evaluation of your completed bachelor's degree.

Demonstrate English proficiency 

Non-native speakers of English must demonstrate English proficiency by meeting the minimum requirements. You are required to submit an official qualifying score meeting minimum Graduate School requirements. Send official test scores to Wayne State University Graduate Admissions, using the school code 1898.

To begin the application review, upload an unofficial copy of your English proficiency test score(s). Once admitted, an official test score must be submitted to Graduate Admissions.