Salaries Rebound, Women Break Out

The economic outlook may be bleak but LJ's annual Placements and Salaries Survey shows librarians are still in demand. In fact, 2001 graduates from American Library Association (ALA)–accredited library and information science (LIS) schools report increased salaries and solid opportunities in traditional and new library positions. The average starting salary for 2001 LIS graduates is $36,818, a 5.49% increase over the 2000 average of $34,871. This rise substantially exceeds the rate of inflation (1.3%) and returns to the trend of 1998–99, when LIS starting salaries outdistanced inflation.

Average salaries for men and women increased at similar rates, 5.98% for men and 5.37% for women. This is in sharply contrast the differences of the last few years, with men's salaries jumping 12% in 1999 and less than 1% last year. Men still make better average starting salaries, $2000 more per year than women. However, in comparison with previous years women are increasingly scoring higher pay than men at the top end of the scale. A look at the average high salaries, by school, shows women outdistancing men on the high end in 20 of 33 schools that turned in a gender breakdown.

Table 1 shows the job status—both by region and in total—of those 1,223 graduates (of 1,397 total) who reported job status. Of those 1,173 (95.9%) were employed in some library capacity.

Of those employed in libraries, 1,105 (94.2%) are in permanent or temporary professional positions, with the rest in nonprofessional positions. The percentage of graduates working in temporary professional jobs has risen slightly this year. The 983 graduates working in full-time permanent professional positions represent 83.8% of those employed in libraries, as compared with 85% in 2000 and 83.5% in 1999.

Table 8 breaks down placements and full-time salaries by school. An analysis of aggregate data reported in Table 5 and Table 2 reveals that the average 2001 professional salary for starting library positions increased by $1,917 over 2000.

The salary increase in 2001 (5.49%) more than doubles the percentage increase in 2000 (2.72%), returning to the levels of 1999 and 1998 (6.5% and 5.4% increases, respectively). While the Consumer Price Index increased in 2001 by two (or 1.3%), the LJSalary Index rose 10.83 (or 2.72%).

Location still matters when it comes to pay. Higher average salaries are reported for the West and the Northeast in some traditional library positions (school, academic, special), as Table 7 indicates. The West is still home of significantly higher average salaries at all types of libraries, notably school libraries. The Northeast is consistently second in most categories, except public libraries where the Southwest offers a higher average salary.

Men had higher average salaries in school, academic, and special libraries by 7.9%. However, women led men in average salary in public and government libraries by 0.4% and 0.6%.

The average difference between salaries of men ($36,433) and women ($34,433) was $2000 (5.8%). Men make up almost 21% of the reported graduates. They show up disproportionately in government (25%) and academic (29.5%) libraries and at vendors (30.8%). Men are represented least in public (14.6%), school (11.6%), and special (17.8%) libraries.

This year the high-tech "other" area rebounded. In 2001 the salaries for men, who made up 21.1% of the respondents, averaged $50,609, an increase of 10%. Salaries for women in these positions rose to $43,184, an increase of 6.8%. In 2000, salaries for men dropped 4.4% to $46,000, while those for women rose 4.5%, to $40,426.

Over ten percent of those who got full-time permanent jobs identified themselves as members of a minority group. The largest group (39.5%) found jobs in public libraries, followed by 30.7% in academic libraries, 15.8% in K–12 media centers, and 5.3% in special libraries. For minority graduates, salaries increased $684, to $37,166 (1.9%), which is well below the 11.1% increase seen in 2000, still higher than the overall average of $36,818. The "other" area offered minority graduates the highest salaries at $46,571, while special libraries ($41,656) offered salaries above the national average for all special libraries ($40,293) as did school library media centers, $40,772 to $39,371.

In general, institution type again had a significant impact on salaries. In spite of a healthy 5.3% increase, public libraries still offer the lowest average salary ($33,345, compared with $31,656 in 2000), followed by academic libraries ($35,883, compared with $33,380 last year, up 7.5%). All other institution types exceeded the overall salary of $36,818. School library salaries rose to $39,371 (up 7.2%) and government pay increased 7.6% to $39,538. Last year's leader, special libraries, increased 6.4% to $40,293, while library cooperatives/networks averaged $41,500 (up from $37,617) with just two placements.

Vendors suffered the only drop in average salary in 2001 at $41,373, down 9.8% from $42,250 in 2000. Additionally, the number of graduates reporting vendor placements declined from 30 in 2000 to 14 in 2001.

Last year's loser, the "other" category, is once again the leader. It includes many of the high-tech and dot-com positions filled by LIS graduates. There is increasing diversity of positions in this area. Some of the reported job titles include researcher for government agencies, data conversion/content management, and indexing and abstracting for documentary production. Only four respondents identified themselves as webmasters and five as database managers; two years ago these were the predominant placements for those working outside of libraries. This year they combine for just over 10% of the "other" category, which is now dominated by people doing traditional library work in nonlibrary settings. The 2001 average of $44,669 is up 6.9% from $41,778 in 2000. Placements in this area are also up from 24 in 2000 to 42 in 2001. This slight rebound may foreshadow recovery in the technology sector, or it may indicate the extent to which library school students have expanded the boundaries of the profession.

Over two-thirds of the schools responded to inquiries about the availability of job openings: seven noted an increase in the number of positions, five experienced a decrease, and the rest saw no change. The reported number of available positions listed at individual schools or their placement offices ranged from a low of 50 to a high of 6700 potential jobs. Overall, these reports indicate a less optimistic placement picture than in 2000. For instance, one institution noted a 73% drop in the number of placement listings.

As in 2000, four schools indicated that in 2001 they had experienced less difficulty placing their graduates than during the previous year; one reported that it was harder; and 22 said the situation hadn't changed. Schools most commonly mentioned a harder sell to vendors, web, and academic libraries. Several schools indicated that they experienced no noticeable increase or decrease by type of library or position.

Table 4 shows 2001 placements by type of organization. Reported college and university library placements (341) were down again from 2000 (363). Elementary and secondary library placements (218) continued the downward trend of 2000 (223). Public library placements (369) are up after falling in 2000 (340), compared with 1999 (458).

In a follow-up survey, about one third of the 145 graduates contacted commented on the placement process and the preparation they received in library school. Tenacity in the hiring process was an important theme in 2001. One graduate summed up what new hires need: "People skills first and foremost—what [Daniel] Goleman calls 'emotional intelligence.' Web skills—particularly online searches and Internet homepage design experience—are at this point almost a given. Finally, strategic planning ability for people applying for managerial posts."

The need to master people skills, technology, and strategic planning was echoed by many graduates. Interaction with clients and colleagues is a major consideration in the hiring process. "Attitude first—general overall good 'people skills'—comfort level with putting the public first and serving the customer well," said one graduate.

Money and management issues came up frequently. One graduate wrote, "I also use the management skills I learned every minute…I do wish that we had spent a bit more class time on working around a budget and time constraints. In my small library I have a slim budget, and I spent my first four months learning how to prioritize. It becomes an issue not of what to buy but when to buy as well as what is most cost-effective to buy." Another suggested, "Perhaps some segments of administration/management courses (especially those finance related) could be joint-taught by business school faculty."

In the area of customer service, reference skills are highly valued. One student felt a bit unprepared: "I wish that the reference courses I took could have provided some interaction with 'real' patrons. We focused a lot on sources (which was good), but we didn't get any practice in the reference interview." Another agreed: "We focused on print reference, and I needed more experience with electronic databases and evaluation of Internet sites. Dialog was the primary electronic source, and it would have been helpful to have spent time on other databases."

Technology and web skills are more important than ever, and students want more training in school. One graduate wrote, "I felt adequately prepared for my position because I sought out technology courses. Still, I wasn't fully satisfied with my education in this regard. Library schools must, must, must integrate technology into their programs. They need to teach computer networking and programming as it relates to libraries." Another confirmed this sentiment, writing, "[T]he more technology-oriented classes, such as info retrieval, info design/presentation, dBase management, and usability testing, were most useful."

Salary negotiations generated a range of responses again this year. Those working at public and school libraries generally face a predetermined salary schedule, while vendors and other private companies offer some room to negotiate. One graduate reported, "In a school you do not negotiate salary. It is a schedule that is based on years of experience and the degree that you hold." Another said, "I found the ranges to be negotiable. The job I took did not offer good health benefits, so I was able to negotiate a higher salary to compensate for the extra money I'd have to pay out to cover my prescriptions."

Finally, one new librarian summed up her job skills enthusiastically: "To be honest, there isn't a moment that goes by that I don't think about somethingI learned at library school."