ALA-APA Releases First-ever Non-MLS Salary Survey

-- Library Journal, 10/19/2006

The American Library Association-Allied Professional Association (ALA-APA) has conducted the first-ever salary survey of public and academic library positions not requiring an ALA-accredited master's degree, and the preliminary results are intriguing. For one thing, the non-MLS library salaries reported for 2006 generally don't match the salaries for similar job categories reported in the 2004 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Outlook Handbook. For example, BLS reports an average salary of $92,570 for IT managers, but those working in public and academic libraries earn $48,513 and 44,358, respectively. Then again, IT managers work across broad fields.

In assessing salaries for library technicians, BLS reported an average of $24,940, while, two years later, ALA-APA reported $31,004 for those working in public libraries, and $29,467 for those working in academic libraries. Some 836 libraries participated the survey. Data was collected from 26,937 people in 62 positions. More details about the geographic distribution of salaries and the differences between types of institutions will emerge when people start analyzing the whole survey. It's for sale at the ALA Store, for $100/$90 ALA member.