Placements & Salaries Survey 2009: Survey Methods

2009 LJ Placements & Salaries Survey: Methods, Participation

Stephanie Maatta -- Library Journal, 10/15/2009

We received responses either through the institutional survey or individuals representing 46 of the 54 American Library Association (ALA)—accredited LIS schools in the United States and from 2,119 of the approximately 6,589 total LIS graduates. Michigan prepared its own compilation in summary form, and Iowa provided a combination of its own survey data and the electronic version. Pratt provided only the institutional data.

Most schools chose to respond electronically. Some graduates and schools reported incomplete information, rendering some data unusable. For schools that did not complete the institutional survey, data were taken from graduate surveys, and thus are not full representation of all graduating classes.

We are pleased that several schools that were unable to participate in the past were able to do so this year, including the universities of Arizona, Maryland, and South Carolina.

The following schools declined to participate or did not respond to calls for participation: Catholic, Clarion, Emporia, North Carolina Central, North Carolina—Greensboro, Queens College, Southern Mississippi, and Valdosta. The Canadian programs, including Alberta, British Columbia, Dalhousie, McGill, Montreal, Toronto, and Western Ontario, conduct their own annual salary and placements surveys and do not participate in LJ's annual survey.

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