Library Worklife

Volume 3, No. 9 • September 2006

Salaries & Pay Equity

Librarian Minimum Salary Survey

By Michael McGrorty

The results of a recent survey reveal a strong desire for the establishment of minimum salaries for librarians. The survey, conducted online over a period of forty days, was advertised on various library electronic discussion lists and received approximately 700 responses. Survey results follow; most common responses are highlighted.

Notes on procedure: The survey was conducted via the Questionpro online service. Survey responses were tabulated from input received July 19 through August 29, 2006. Differences in columnar response totals reflect question skipping or branching, as in the case of Question Four, and from multiple responses, as in Question Five. The survey results are, most likely, not significantly affected by multiple responses; a check of IP addresses revealed no matches for separate response clusters.

Survey Questions and Responses

Question One: How many years of library service do you have?

	No.	%
1. None or less than a year	62	8.70
2. One to five years	215	30.15
3. Five to ten years	160	22.44
4. Ten to fifteen years	95	13.32
5. Fifteen to twenty years	63	8.84
6. More than twenty years	118	16.55
Total	713

Question Two: My current/former employment is best described as:

	No.	%
1. Library support staff	73	10.27
2. Librarian (non-supervisory)	287	40.37
3. First-level library supervisor	70	9.85
4. Department Manager	78	10.97
5. Branch Manager	35	4.92
6. District Library Manager	8	1.13
7. Library Director or Similar	100	14.06
8. Professor/Instructor	12	1.69
9. Consultant	9	1.27
10. Other	35	4.92
11. None	4	0.56
Total	711

Question Three: I believe there should be a non-mandatory minimum salary standard for full-time librarians.

	No.	%
1. Strongly agree	248	35.08
2. Agree	291	41.16
3. Neutral	104	14.71
4. Disagree	45	6.36
5. Strongly disagree	19	2.69
Total	707

Question Four: If you believe that there should be a minimum annual salary established for librarians, what should that be?

	No.	%
1. Less than $25,000	1	0.17
2. $25,000	20	3.48
3. $30,000	81	14.09
4. $35,000	163	28.35
5. $40,000	175	30.43
6. $45,000	91	15.83
7. $50,000	31	5.39
8. More than $50,000	13	2.26
Total	575

Question Five: List library organizations you belong to:

	No.	%
1. American Library Association (and its divisions)	449	37.39
2. State or Regional Library Association	441	36.72
3. Other	226	18.82
4. None	85	7.08
Total	1,201

The survey results point to strong support among library workers for a minimum salary, with over three-quarters responding positively to the idea of some minimum pay level. Almost sixty percent of respondents expressed a desire for a minimum salary in the $35–$40,000 range. According to the 2005 Survey of Librarian Salaries, the mean salary for public and academic librarians in the U.S. was $53,779, and the average salary for Beginning Librarians was $36,486.

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