Librarians' salaries: Much better this year

Headnote

SALARY INCREASES FOR LIBRARIANS EXCEED THOSE FOR WORKERS IN PRIVATE INDUSTRY FOR 1996-1997

Between April 1996 and April 1997, the average salary for librarians increased 4.62%-a much higher percentage than the increase for comparable occupations reported by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in the April 1997 Monthly Labor Review. A table in that source entitled "Employment Cost Index, wages and salaries by occupation and industry group" shows that civilian workers (i.e., private industry, state and local government, but excluding farm, household, and federal government workers) received an average 3.3% increase over the previous year.

Table 1 shows the percent change in mean of salaries paid to librarians in six different positions since 1990. After an alarming drop last year, the percent change in mean of salaries paid looks healthy again.

About the ALA survey

The ALA Survey of Librarian Salaries 1997 covers full-time professional positions held by...