Scholarly Communication Issues

Maatta, Stephanie. What's an MLIS Worth? Library Journal, October 15, 2007, vol. 132, no. 17.

This article takes a look at 2006 employment and salary statistics for library professionals in the United States and Canada. The author discusses recent speculation of an entry-level gap, meaning that there are more recent graduates than available entry-level jobs; however she says that none of the school survey respondents for the article reported any problems with placing graduates. Rather than being concerned with finding a job, most of the graduates surveyed reported that their primary areas of concern were finding a competitive salary and a job that matched their interests. Some graduates reported taking part-time jobs and even non-professional positions.

Other interesting findings included a 57.8% rise in information technology positions over previous years, the continued decline of the number of graduates reporting minority status, and as is typical in most professions, the gender inequity between salaries. In our profession, the salaries of women are on average 6.5% behind those of our male counterparts.

One of the most interesting components of the article was a profile of Deborah Lilton, a 2006 MLIS graduate of the University of Alabama, now working at the Heard Library at Vanderbilt University. Deborah had previously received a master's in English from Rutgers and wanted to go back to school, but didn't want to work on a Ph. D. She says that her decision to enter library school and her time as a student were enriched by the mentors she had, including Sybil Moses of the Library of Congress and Carla Hayden, the then-president of ALA. Deborah says that, "Libraries will change dramatically. The library today is like those transformer toys of the 1980s: there are many more versions of them than meet the eye - and more to come, too.

One other point mentioned is the continuing struggle between the "information science" and "library science" terms. Over 1550 2006 graduates were asked to define how they viewed their positions. Seventy-two percent believed their job to be library science, 12% considered themselves information science, and 16% believed that they fell into other categories.

This article is very statistics-heavy, but is nonetheless fascinating. It can be viewed as a great tool for students and recent graduates, as it includes extensive amounts of salary information compiled directly from recent graduates in the field (UT's 2006 grads were surveyed in addition to those from forty-two other library schools in the United States and Canada. There are charts detailing job placements, salaries, gender demographics, geographic data, and comparisons of the statistics. Additionally, the insight provided by Deborah Liltes was very valuable, because she brings up several good points that are at the forefront of the profession.

-Sarah Beth White