Improving the Salaries and Status of Library Workers
Salary Surveys and Fact Sheets
ALA-APA’s nationwide campaign provides workers
with the tools and training that will allow them
to reach the goals they have set for themselves and their institutions. Utilize the following ALA-APA resources in your own campaign to raise the salaries and status of library employees.
- Union Difference for Library Workers
The Department for Professional Employees, AFL-CIO analyzed 2006 data from the ALA Salary Survey: Non-MLS - Public and Academic and found that salaries were typically higher for staff in unionized libraries.
- Living Wage Resolution Passed by ALA-APA Council in June 2008
The ALA-APA Council passed a living wage resolution supporting the annual updating of the $40,000 minimum salary for librarians and recommending a salary of $13 an hour for library workers, also to be updated annually.
- $40,000 Minimum Salary for Librarians Passed by ALA-APA Council in January 2007
At the American Library Association (ALA) 2007 Midwinter Meeting in Seattle, January 19 - 24, the ALA-Allied Professional Association: the Organization for the Advancement of Library Employees (ALA-APA) Council adopted a resolution to endorse a nonbinding minimum salary for professional librarians. The resolution states that: "over three-quarters of respondent library workers support the establishment of salary minimums for librarians, with the most common salary figure cited being $40,000."
The resolution endorses a minimum salary for professional librarians of not less than $40,000 per year.
- Workplace Wellness Survey Analysis - NEW!
Part 1 - ALA-APA Workplace Wellness Survey Attracts 2,524 Responses
Part II - Workplace Wellness Survey Reveals Correlation Between Work-Life Initiative Availability, Participation
Part III - Survey Says Libraries Struggle to Match Supply, Demand in Wellness Initiatives
Part IV - Employees Surveyed Express Support for Wellness Initiatives, Ambivalence about
Execution
- Minimum Salaries by State
Many states have recommended minimum salaries for librarians. Raise the ceiling by raising the floor; use your state's recommendation to draw attention to low salaries and status in your area of the country.
- Rural Library Salaries Survey
ALA-APA and the ALA Office for Literacy and Outreach Services (OLOS) shine light on a long-overlooked area of librarianship - the low salaries and status of library workers in small and rural libraries.
- Updated Library Workers Salary Fact Sheet
The Department for Professional Employees, American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations (DPE, AFL-CIO) has compiled a list of demographic trends affecting library employment, including diversity, the wage gap and unionization.
- Professional Women Salary Fact Sheet
Library workers, predominately female, are underpaid relative to
the education required and the complexity of the service we provide. DPE, AFL-CIO outlines gender differences in education, occupational distribution and the "union advantage."
- Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2006-2007 edition
The Median Salary Comparison offered by the Bureau of Labor Statistics offers 2002 and 2004 median data for library workers and employees in several comparable, many male dominated, fields. The graph below, using information taken from this site, starkly illustrates the differing salaries of comparable fields.
OCCUPATION |
2002 MEDIAN |
2004 MEDIAN |
Librarians |
$43,090 |
$45,900 |
Library Technicians |
24,090 |
24,940 |
Accountants & Auditors |
47,000 |
50,770 |
Administrative Services Managers |
52,500 |
60,290 |
Architects |
56,620 |
60,300 |
Civil Engineers |
60,070 |
64,230 |
Computer Systems Analysts |
62,890 |
66,460 |
Customer Service Representatives |
26,240 |
27,020 |
Database Administrators |
55,480 |
60,650 |
Paralegals |
37,950 |
39,130 |
Social Workers |
33,150 |
34,820 |
Teachers, Post-secondary |
49,040 |
51,800 |
Response
Library workers are outspoken when it comes to intellectual freedom and
other issues that affect library users, but we have not been nearly as
vocal on our own behalf. Our challenge is clear:
•
We must overcome the stereotype of the library worker as the selfless,
dedicated and devoted worker, who is in the profession to do good and
who will accept any pittance of pay.
• We
must promote a better understanding of what the librarian does. No one
will want to pay us more money if they have no idea what education,
experience, judgment and special skills it takes for us to do our
jobs.
• We must contribute substantively
to the fight for pay equity-it is our fight, too. Women have been
discriminated against in a variety of ways, a primary one being
compensation.
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