"Library Journal's annual Placements & Salaries Survey, with 1,996 respondents representing 38.7% of the approximately 5160 2009 LIS graduates, found an uptick in starting salaries, but bigger bumps in part-time and temporary jobs, an expanding gender gap, setbacks for minority graduates, and a drop in the number of total graduates. On the up…

"It's a recession, baby!" was the common refrain among the Library and Information Science (LIS) graduates of the class of 2008. This was a record year for the number of graduates participating in "Library Journal"'s annual Placements & Salaries survey, and they had stories to tell, providing evidence of both hard times in the job market, and some…

Placements and salaries for librarians who completed their formal studies for a professional career and entered the employment market in 1971 are presented. (Author/NH)

Why choose librarianship as a career? Seventeen percent of public librarians responding to this question in LJ's Job Satisfaction Survey began their answers with the words "I love...." And not for nothing: 70% reported being either "very satisfied" or "satisfied" with their jobs vs. the 31% who said they were "somewhat satisfied" or "not satisfied…

This article reports the findings of a survey examining the current performances of libraries. The libraries that were surveyed this year reported a solid performance in 2005, with a budget growth of 4.7 percent. For the next fiscal year, libraries predicted a 5.5 percent increase in budgets which exceeded the inflation. Many of them, however,…

How librarians came to their careers is as varied as the people themselves, but despite some often highly publicized challenges for college and university librarians in the digital age, academic librarianship is good work, according to the "Library Journal's" Job Satisfaction Survey. This article presents the results of this survey. The…

Despite a difficult economy and tightening budgets, both jobs and salaries rose for 2007 graduates. Echoing the previous year's growth, reported annual salaries increased approximately 3.1%, from $41,014 in 2006 to $42,361. The picture was most positive for graduates in the Southeast, whose average annual starting salary surged past the $40,000…

Discusses results of a California Library Association study that investigated library employees' salaries as compared to salaries of employees in comparable public jobs. Highlights include reasons for unfair library employee compensation; comparisons of support staff supervisor salaries and executive salaries; and how to use the data to improve…

In fall 2005, Rachel Holt and Adrienne L. Strock's article, "The Entry-Level Gap," ("Library Journal" 5/1/05, p.36-38) became the talk of the town. Holt and Strock argued that the new Master of Library Science (MLS) graduates have trouble finding work because of low salaries and the disappearance of entry-level positions owing to…

In this article, the author revisits 11 graduates who were profiled as part of LJ's annual Placements & Salaries issue. Armed with a library science degree from various institutions, they had just secured jobs in librarianship and were off to a good start forging their careers. Since then, they have worked at elementary school, college, and…

Presents data from 44 library/information science programs in the United States. Ten tables show status of 1996 graduates; placements/full-time salaries by region; full-time salaries of traditional versus nontraditional graduates; placements by organization; special placements; placements/full-time salaries of graduates; salaries of minorities by…

Discusses the issue of pay equity for librarians and considers two cases of libraries in which staffs have obtained equitable pay: the state of Minnesota and the California State University system. Methods for achieving equity are suggested, and a sidebar addresses criticisms of and obstacles to this effort. (Six references) (MES)

This article presents findings from the "Library Journal's" Job Satisfaction Survey among 3,095 library staffers from public, academic, special, and school libraries. A whopping 85.6 percent of the respondents said they would choose a career in librarianship again if they had to start over. Workers in all types of libraries--and across…

It was a banner year for women in 2006. Their average annual starting salary finally cracked through the $40,000 glass barrier, increasing to $40,566 for all women and with a substantial gain of 11.3% for women in the Southwest. There was small, but solid, growth in salaries overall. Another surprise was the substantial leap in graduates reporting…

Employment and salary statistics are tabulated for 1973 graduates of library schools accredited by the American Library Association. (LS)