The Cedar Rapids Public Library Board of Trustees supports the voluntary certification program for librarians adopted by the State Library of Iowa.

The board will require certification for the positions of director, assistant director, adult services manager, circulation services manager, and children's/programming services manager.

Other library staff members are encouraged to become certified, but certification will not be required.

Preference in attending continuing education courses will be given to staff members who hold positions for which the board of trustees requires certification by the state of Iowa and to those staff members who have demonstrated an interest in becoming certified.

The board realizes that the number of courses approved for certification, especially those helpful to MLS librarians, varies according to funding at the state level, making it necessary to take courses offered outside the certification program in order to achieve the required number of contact hours for certification. Also, sometimes credit for such courses is not awarded by the State Library Certification Screening Board, even though the content relates directly to a person's job responsibilities. In recognition of these facts, the director may, at his or her discretion, waive the requirement of certification for a person who is otherwise required to be certified, and whose contact hours in job-related courses equal or exceed the number required for certification, but who is unable to obtain certification due to the reasons stated above.