Empower yourself and your team by learning fundamental budget management skills. 

Course Description 

Many librarians get promoted into management positions without learning essential management skills such as budget management. This online course will cover the foundations of managing a department or team budget, including budget planning and creation, resource allocation, budget monitoring, and financial reporting. You will learn how to use Microsoft Excel to streamline budget management and leave with templates to use in your daily work. 

This course includes one half-day of live, online presentations from an expert speaker, as well as three weeks of a guided asynchronous workshop with facilitated peer cohorts and assignments. In this workshop, you’ll have the opportunity to practice what you’ve learned through prompted activities, share and crowdsource issues with peers, and get feedback from peers and your facilitator.
 

The live sessions run on Wednesday, March 5, 2025 from 12:00 to 5:00 pm (recorded for on demand viewing) with an asynchronous workshop over 3 weeks. Don’t miss this opportunity!

Learning Outcomes

After you attend this course, you’ll be able to:

• Understand and articulate the connection between budgeting and strategic planning

• Differentiate between types and purposes of budgets

• Use Excel to develop and manage budgets

• Plan and create a budget

• Allocate resources intentionally and strategically 

• Monitor and report on your budget with confidence

Who should take this course?

This course is best suited for library managers, aspiring managers, or anyone who is new to managing a budget.

Course Features 

This is an online course with a half-day of live, online speaker presentations and an asynchronous 3-week workshop and will include:

• Live sessions: Guest speaker presentations by leaders in their field. (All sessions are recorded for on demand access for six months after the course ends.) 

• Facilitated discussions: Audience participation in Q&A and discussion with guest speakers.

• Asynchronous workshop: Project-based weekly assignments to connect what you’re learning to your professional life. Includes written feedback from an expert in the field who functions as the workshop facilitator, as well as peer conversation via discussion forums.

• Early access on-demand resources: Access to a series of past live session archives from Library Journal and School Library Journal courses to explore at your own pace. 

• Online Classroom: The virtual learning platform that holds all course content and is accessible for six months after the course ends. 

Course Advisor

Expected time commitment

If you attend or watch the recordings of all live sessions and participate fully in the asynchronous workshop, you'll spend approximately 4 hours per week on this course. You'll earn 12 hours of PD credit and a Library Journal certificate of completion. 

On-demand access

All live guest speaker sessions are recorded and available on-demand for six months following the initial broadcast as a part of your purchase.

Certificate of completion 

Complete the course and earn 12 professional development credit hours. We provide a certificate that is emailed to you. 

Accessibility

All guest speaker sessions feature live captioning and are made available on demand after the initial broadcast. Please email libraryjournal@edmaker.co upon registration if you require any special accommodations and we will make our best efforts to facilitate them.

Support

For support with online courses, please contact libraryjournal@edmaker.co.

Group Rates

We offer discounts for groups of 3 or more. Groups have the option to collaborate in the same workshop group, where discussions and project-based assignments receive feedback from an experienced librarian.

For larger groups of 15 or more, we offer the option to apply group rates across multiple courses to receive significant discounts. For more information, select “Bulk Course Credits Packages” in the form below. 

Request a group discount!

By registering for this event you confirm that you have read and agree to our Code of Conduct.

Half-Day Online Course | Wednesday, March 5, 2025 

Course & Workshop Introduction | 12:00-12:20 pm ET
An introduction to the weekly assignments, an overview of what to expect from the online workshop in this course, and a chance to complete the course pre-assessment.

Session 1 | 12:20-1:15 pm ET
Budgeting 101: Understanding the ‘Why’ of Library Budgets
What types of budgets exist in libraries and what different purposes do they serve? How does your strategic plan connect to your budget? This introductory session will provide an overview of library budgets. Leave this session understanding key vocabulary and accounting concepts foundational to the remainder of this course.

Speaker:

Dr. Sean Gaffney, Lecturer, School of Information, San José State University

Session 2 | 1:15-2:15 pm ET
Excel 101: Making the Most from Your Spreadsheets
If Excel has ever made you want to cry or scream, this session is for you. This session will cover the basics of creating a user-friendly and sustainable template for your budget. Leave this session knowing how to use essential formulas, sort and filter data, use conditional formatting, and create basic pivot tables.  

Break | 2:15-2:30 pm ET

Session 3 | 2:30-3:15 pm ET
How to Plan and Create Your Budget
How do you get started with your library budget? This session will cover the foundations of planning and creating a budget from scratch. You will learn how to analyze and use historical data, set appropriate financial goals, and estimate your income and costs. You will leave understanding the four major types of budgets: line-item, program, performance, and zero-based.

Session 4 | 3:15-4:00 pm ET
How to Allocate Your Resources
How do you know where and how to allocate resources? This session will give you the tools to intentionally and strategically distribute your available resources across your budget. You will learn how to assess your risks, constraints, and priorities and plan accordingly to set you up for success. 

Break | 4:00-4:15 pm ET

Session 5 | 4:15-5:00 pm ET
How to Monitor and Report on Your Budget
How do you track your library budget? What information should be analyzed for a budget report? This session will teach you how to track your income and expenses, compare your actuals to projections, and adjust your budget as needed. You will also learn how to gather and analyze meaningful data to include in reports. Leave this session with tools and templates to help you streamline your reporting.

Online Course Preview

A preview of how we build your library skills and bring inspiration to your projects with our online learning experience.

Course Format

One-Week Timeline (Course Runs 3+ Weeks)

DAYS 1-2 On-Demand	DAY 3 4 hours	DAYS 4-7 1-2 hours (optional)
PRE-LIVE SESSION - Resources - Discussions - Bonus Content	LIVE SESSIONS - Guest speakers via webcast -  Facilitated discussions - Recordings available for 6 months	ASYNCHRONOUS WORKSHOP - Project-based weekly assignments - Written feedback from a facilitator - Peer conversation via discussion forums

Course Features

Live session with Andrea Blackman and Tasneem Ansariyah Grace	Live Guest Speakers Sessions Guest speaker presentations by leaders in their field.  Audience participation in Q&A and discussion with guest speakers. Optional interactive working sessions with breakout groups during live sessions to practice skills with peers.

Recordings of guest speakers

Recordings Available On Demand Sessions are recorded for on demand access for six months after the course ends.

Asynchronous workshop

Online Classroom + Asynchronous Workshop The virtual learning platform that holds all course content and is accessible for six months after the course ends.  Live session recordings. Project-based weekly assignments.  Written feedback from an expert in the field who functions as the workshop facilitator. Peer conversation via discussion forums.

Early Access On-Demand Resources

Early Access On-Demand Resources Bonus: Register early and get access to a series of past live session archives from Library Journal and School Library Journal courses to explore at your own pace.  Some courses include supporting resources in the online classroom.