Lis

The LJ placement and salaries survey provides a valuable professional snapshot of the job-seeking experiences of graduates and their institutions as a service to the LIS community. LJ invited each of the 52 American Library Association–accredited library and information science schools located in the United States to participate.

Library Journal’s annual Placements & Salaries survey reports on the experiences of LIS students who graduated and sought their first librarian jobs in the previous year: in this case, 2019. Salaries and full-time employment are up, but so are unemployment and the gender gap; 2019 graduates faced a mixed job market even before the pandemic.

As universities and colleges across the United States grapple with the best way to proceed with fall terms given the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, American Library Association–accredited library science programs are providing a variety of options to their students. Some are going fully online while others are offering hybrid courses with online and in-person components.

As the field increasingly expands to include work with a wide range of physical and electronic materials, resources, and data, the question “What is a librarian?” does not have an easy answer. Prerequisites for any librarian job include curiosity and a desire to help expand others’ knowledge. But a satisfying library career may take many forms.

The importance of diversity and inclusion in librarianship is a common topic in LIS pedagogy today. Not long ago, that was far from the norm. However, in 1967 the University of Maryland’s School of Library and Information Sciences (SLIS) offered a comprehensive program that focused on topics designed to better serve the disadvantaged. It included an experimental library, High John, created and facilitated by SLIS in a predominately African American community named Fairmount Heights.

Recognizing the immense achievements of librarians in a variety of disciplines is worthy of a big annual shout-out — and that is exactly what Library Journal’s Movers & Shakers program is all about.

Guidance from those who have been there can help prospective students as they consider librarianship and choose a library science program.

Simmons University School of Library and Information Science has partnered with seven academic health sciences and research libraries and science publisher Elsevier to establish the Research Data Management Librarian Academy (RDMLA), a free online professional development program. RDMLA launched on October 7.

LJ's 2019 Placements & Salaries survey looked at grads entering the LIS field for their second careers and the kind of education or experience they were bringing to their new roles.