Library Worklife

Volume 3, No. 6 • June 2006

Salaries & Pay Equity

Salaries of Librarians and Other Professionals Working in Libraries

The Colorado State Library, Library Research Service has compiled data comparing library professionals' salaries with other professionals in libraries, like auditors, computer scientists, compensation managers, public relations managers, etc. This data is a state-specific version of what will soon be available from ALA-APA’s nation-wide Non-MLS Salary Survey. It is noteworthy that of the eleven other professions, all but two bring in higher salaries than librarians. Computer and information managers command a salary almost twice that of librarians ($106,580 vs. $51,560). According to the 2005 ALA Survey of Librarian Salaries, the average salary of an ALA-accredited MLS who is a department head was $55,833. What does this say about how we and others value the skills that library professionals provide? ww.lrs.org/documents/fastfacts/238_BLS_lib_salaries.pdf

“The Devaluing of Higher Education”—AAUP to Release Annual Report on Faculty Salaries

Washington, D.C.—For the second consecutive year, the increase in overall average salaries for college and university professors failed to keep up with the rate of inflation. That is one of the central findings of “The Devaluing of Higher Education: The Annual Report on the Economic Status of the Profession, 2005–06,” which was released by the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) on Monday, April 24.

The AAUP’s annual report has been an authoritative source of data on faculty salaries and compensation for decades. This year’s findings call into question assertions contained in an issue paper on college costs prepared recently for the U.S. Secretary of Education’s Commission on the Future of Higher Education. The paper, by commission consultant Robert C. Dickeson, claims that “faculty salaries are especially expensive,” and that “the time-honored practice of tenure is costly.”

AAUP data, however, indicate that overall average faculty salaries remain depressed as a result of a long-term pattern of insufficient investment in faculty.

This year’s report compares faculty salaries to other higher education indicators, including presidential salaries and institutional returns on endowment investment. The concluding section explores an issue of continuing concern to those committed to maintaining the quality of U.S. higher education: the low pay rates of part-time faculty, who now make up nearly half of all college and university teachers. Highlights of this year’s report include the following:

Overall average salaries for all ranks of full-time faculty across all types of institutions rose 3.1 percent between 2004–05 and 2005–06. When adjusted for inflation, however, average salaries declined by 0.3 percent, following a 0.5 percent decrease in 2004–05. The last time inflation-adjusted salaries declined for two consecutive years was from 1978–79 to 1980–81.

Full-time faculty who continued from the previous year at the same institution did not fare much better. Their 1.1 percent inflation-adjusted salary increase is the lowest since 1996–97.

The salary gap between full-time faculty at public colleges and universities and their counterparts at private (non-church-related) institutions continued to widen in 2005–06. This disparity seriously disadvantages public institutions in trying to attract and retain the most qualified faculty.

Over time, a significant lag in compensation has developed between faculty and those with graduate degrees in other professions. Although most faculty members do not choose a career in academe for the paycheck, this increasing disparity makes it more difficult to recruit the best students into academic careers.

Although both public and private institutions are recovering from the economic difficulties of the past few years, college and university presidents are reaping significantly greater rewards from the recovery than faculty. Between 1995 and 2005, median salaries for presidents rose 29 percent, while salaries for full-time faculty increased only 9 percent.

The increasing costs of benefits, particularly medical insurance, represent a continuing strain on college and university budgets.

The number of faculty employed only part time continues to increase. This year’s report gives an indication of how low the pay for part-time faculty really is.

The address for media access is www.aaup.org/newsroom/press/2006/06z/zrep.htm. This version provides a complete set of institutional data, which allow for comparison of specific colleges and universities on average salary by rank and gender. The institutional lists are organized by state for ease of downloading. (Note: You may use these institutional lists for specific comparisons only. You may not publish, post on the Web, or redistribute substantial lists of institutional data without prior written permission from the AAUP.)

The primary author of this year’s report is Saranna Thornton, Elliott Associate Professor of Economics at Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia and chair of the AAUP’s Committee on the Economic Status of the Profession. Media representatives can arrange an interview with Professor Thornton by contacting the AAUP. All media inquiries should go to Robin Burns at AAUP: (202) 737-5900 ext. 3013. Dr. John Curtis, the AAUP’s director of research, can be reached at (202) 737-5900 ext. 3049, or jcurtis@aaup.org.

The American Association of University Professors is a nonprofit charitable and educational organization that promotes academic freedom by supporting tenure, academic due process, and standards of quality in higher education. The AAUP has about 45,000 members at colleges and universities throughout the United States.

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