Get a Head Start! Certification Starts February 15

All RAILS members must complete certification to continue to receive RAILS services and Illinois State Library (ISL) grants. The 2021 annual library online certification process runs from February 15 to May 15.

Certification will be done through L2, and libraries will no longer need a separate login to certify. You will need to complete the FY 2020 ILLINET ILL Statistical Survey before starting the certification form.

Something you can do before certification begins:

• If you are the director or are delegated the role of completing certification, you can get listed as the library's certification contact.
  • If you want to be listed as a certification contact for your library, go to your user dashboard on L2, and edit the affiliation that you have with your library's primary location. Go to the main branch or administrative office and check the box under > Key Contact – Regional System for > Certification Contact. Then scroll down and click the Save button.
  • Only certification contacts will see the "Complete Certification for (name) Library" link in their dashboard, starting on February 15.

Other new things this year:

• Certification will be done through L2, and libraries will no longer need a separate login to certify.
• All libraries are also required to complete the FY 2020 ILLINET Interlibrary Loan & Reciprocal Borrowing Statistical Survey as part of the process. The deadline for the survey is extended to May 15, matching that of certification. The library should complete the ILL survey before starting the certification form. (The library will need to confirm that they completed the ILL survey on the certification form.)
• Certification for RAILS members will include additional questions for public libraries only about collection expenditures, hours open, and the educational level of the director. RAILS added these questions to aid our understanding of our members and help us serve them better. Answers to these additional questions will not affect a library's eligibility for system services or ISL grants in any way.

You can find out more about certification and see a demo of how it will work through L2 on the recording for the January 28 RAILS Member Update. You can also view the additional questions for RAILS public libraries on the recording.