Plenty of Jobs, Salaries Flat

Library pay is not immune to the national slowdown

By Tom Terrell and Vicki L. Gregory -- Library Journal, 10/15/2001

In a year of widespread economic downturn, graduates from American Library Association (ALA)-accredited library and information science (LIS) schools found plenty of jobs and overall (though small) salary increases. The average beginning salary for 2000 LIS graduates is $34,871, a 2.63% increase over the 1999 average ($33,976). This increase lags about 30% behind inflation (3.8%) and does not continue the trend of the last two years, when LIS starting salaries easily beat inflation.

Last year's salary leaders, including many of the high-tech and dot-com positions filled by LIS graduates, were not immune to the fall of the high-tech sector. This trend took a toll on both number of jobs and salary ranges. One bright note: minority graduates posted an 11% salary gain in 2000, the best in years.

Reversing a trend, the average salary for women rose 3.18% in 2000 while that for men increased only .57%. This is severely down from the 12% increase for men last year, but men still earn nearly 5% more than women in this field.

Job trends

Table 1 shows the job status-both by region and in total-of those 1,234 graduates (of 1,392 total) who reported their job status. Of those 1,234 graduates, 1210 (98.1%) were employed in some library capacity.

Of those 1210 graduates employed in libraries, 1,142 (94.4%) are in permanent or temporary professional positions, with the rest in nonprofessional positions. The percentage for temporary professional jobs remains consistent. The 1,029 graduates working in full-time permanent professional positions represent 85% of those employed in libraries, as compared with 1,226 (83.5%) in 1999, and 1590 (81.5%) in 1998.

Salaries rise slowly

Table 7 shows placements and full-time salaries of reporting 2000 graduates on a school-by-school basis. An analysis of aggregate data reported in Tables 5 and 2 reveals that the average 2000 professional salary for starting library positions increased by $925 over 1999.

The salary increase in 2000 (2.72%) tapers off from the previous two years (6.5% and 5.4% increases), returning to the numbers in 1997 and 1996 (2.7% and 1.7%). While the Consumer Price Index increased in 2000 by 6.4 (or 3.8%), the LJ Salary Index rose 5.23 (or 2.72%).

Geography continues to influence salaries, with higher average salaries reported for the West and the Northeast in traditional library positions (public, school, academic, special), as Table 8 indicates. Average salaries for the West are significantly higher for all types of libraries, notably school libraries. The Northeast is a consistent second in most categories except colleges and universities, where the Midwest offers a higher average salary.

In all but three areas, men had higher average salaries by an aggregate of 8.9%. However, women led men in average salary in special libraries $37,913 to $37,495 (1.1%). Also, there were no reported placements for men in networks/cooperatives.

Most interesting were the changes in the high-tech 'other' area. In 1999 the average salary for men in this category increased 31%, to $48,082 from $36,750, while that for women went up 8.3%, to $38,826 from $35,853. In 2000, the salaries for men dropped 4.4%, to $46,000, while those for women rose 4.5%, to $40,426. Though this contributed to the significant slowdown in the rise of men's salaries, it did not change the overall disparity between men and women. The number of placements and percent of total placements in this area have dropped dramatically in the last three years, from 108 (7.6%) in 1998 to 79 (5%) in 1999 to 48 (4%) in 2000.

Of those who got full-time permanent jobs, 11.5% identified themselves as members of a minority group. The largest group (32.5%) found jobs in public libraries, followed by 30.9% in academic libraries, 18.7% in special libraries, and 13% in K-12 media centers. For minority graduates, salaries rose 11.1% ($3,636, to $36,482), which is well above the 6.1% rise for 1999 and perhaps attributable to a greater percentage of placements in academic and special libraries. Special libraries provide the highest average salary for minority graduates ($42,665), well above the national average for all special libraries ($37,849).

Salaries vary widely by institution type. Public libraries, in spite of a healthy 6.7% increase, still offer the lowest average salary ($31,656, compared with $29,643 in 1999), followed by academic libraries ($33,380, compared with $32,837 last year, up less than 2%). Government libraries ($36,720) averaged only a 1.5% increase over last year's $36,165. Library cooperatives/networks ($37,617, up a significant 13.6%) and school libraries ($36,718, up 3.4%) offered a considerably higher average salary than did public libraries, but still lower than those at special libraries ($37,849, up 2.4%).

Last year's leader, the Other category, included many of the high-tech and dot-com positions filled by LIS graduates. These graduates were not immune to the turmoil of the high-tech companies, and the Other category was the only one to lose ground, dropping $78 (less than .2%) to an average of $41,778. The number of reported placements dropped from 52 in 1999 to 24 in 2000, though some of that may be a result of limited responses to our survey. Vendors offered the highest average salary in 2000 at $42,250, up from $36,947 last year, a hefty increase of more than 14%. Additionally, the number of graduates reporting vendor placements went from 22 in 1999 to 30 in 2000, an increase of 36%, despite fewer responses to the survey.

Placements remain strong

About two-thirds of the schools responded to inquiries about the availability of job openings: 15 reported an increase in the number of positions, two experienced a decrease, and the rest reported the number as unchanged. The reported number of available positions listed at individual schools or their placement offices ranged from a low of 150 to a high of 8,867 potential jobs.

Four schools indicated that in 2000 they had experienced less difficulty placing their graduates than during 1999; none reported that it was harder to do so, and 23 said the situation was unchanged. Several schools indicated that they experienced no noticeable increase or decrease by type of library or position.

Table 4 reflects 2000 placements by type of organization. The response rate to this survey question was down from last year (1,223 responses vs. 1,569 in 1999). Reported college and university library placements (363) were down substantially from 1999 (439). Public library placements (340) also fell in 2000, compared with 1999 (458) and 1998 (435). Elementary and secondary library placements (223) continued down from 1999 (271) and 1998 (330). Some of these changes may be simply a result of limited responses.

The graduates speak

Asked about the placement process and the preparation they received in library school, 39 students-about half of those contacted-responded. New graduates must have technology skills, but they must also work on a team and interact well with clients. 'Based on the interview for my current job, it was very important to have technical skills as well as the ability to communicate ideas and concepts to others,' said one.

Keys to unlocking a successful future

Cataloging and collection development were again identified as key areas. Several students felt unprepared for public and school libraries due to the emphasis on Library of Congress cataloging at the expense of Dewey. One new public librarian said, 'We as librarians need to be more understanding instead of (as I've found) short-tempered with the teenagers who have never used LC.'

Most employers still seek staff with technology and computer skills. One graduate said, 'In my last few interviews (public libraries), potential employers have been initially interested in not only my librarian skills (reference, collection development, etc.) but my customer skills (difficult people/patrons, phone voice, etc.). After a good look at my résumé, they nearly salivate at my technical/geek skills. I have a significant background in the web and web design.. I understand computers, and I'm not afraid of them. That has become one of my most valuable assets.'

Technophobia seems to no longer have a place in the work force. Another graduate said, 'The employers I interviewed with were interested in basic archival skills (arrangement and description, etc.), as well as new, 'cutting-edge' skills like digitization. My strength, according to my current employer, is that I possessed the traditional skills as well as the newer electronic skills (or at least an understanding of those newer skills).'

Salary negotiations generated a range of responses. Those working at public and school libraries generally face a predetermined salary schedule, while vendors and other private companies offer some room to negotiate. Wrote, one student, 'The proposed salary for my position was definitely negotiable, although I wouldn't have known this if I hadn't tried. I strongly encourage everyone to negotiate-librarians are in demand! I researched regional salaries for comparable positions, which were generally higher than what I was offered. I wrote a letter asking for an offer closer to the average (very carefully worded, of course) and was very pleased with the response.'