Librarians in Occupational Outlook Handbook

For the complete Occupational Outlook Handbook
For the full entry on Librarians

Librarians

Significant Points

• A master’s degree in library science usually is required; special librarians may need an additional graduate or professional degree.


• A large number of retirements in the next decade is expected to result in many job openings for librarians to replace those who leave.


• Librarians increasingly use information technology to perform research, classify materials, and help students and library patrons seek Information.

What I Want to Be

Librarians with computer and information systems skills can work as automated-systems librarians, planning and operating computer systems, and as information architects, designing information storage and retrieval systems and developing procedures for collecting, organizing, interpreting, and classifying information.

Earnings

Salaries of librarians vary according to the individual’s qualifications and the type, size, and location of the library. Librarians with primarily administrative duties often have greater earnings. Median annual earnings of librarians in May 2004 were $45,900. The middle 50 percent earned between $36,980 and $56,960. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $28,930, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $70,200. Median annual earnings in the industries employing the largest numbers of librarians in May 2004 were as follows:

• Colleges, universities, and professional schools $47,830


• Elementary and secondary schools 47,580


• Local government 42,500


• Other information services 40,000

The average annual salary for all librarians in the Federal Government in nonsupervisory, supervisory, and managerial positions was $74,630 in 2005.