http://www.lrs.org/ Research and Statistics about Libraries - LibraryWorkforce en-us http://www.lrs.org/blog/rss.xml "Librarianship as viable career" is the liveliest discussion we've seen on libnet in awhile. Obviously many of us feel passionately about being librarians and have strong opinions about the value of an MLIS degree.

Of course, at the LRS we'd like to capture some of these opinions. Help us out by answering a few short questions about this hot topic at: http://surveys.lrs.org/respond.php?sid=31.

This anonymous 60-second survey is intended to capture your gut-reaction to questions about the value of an MLIS degree and its impact on employment opportunities.

Survey at: http://surveys.lrs.org/respond.php?sid=31

Nicolle and Zeth
Library Research Service
Colorado State Library
www.LRS.org http://www.lrs.org/blog/viewitem.php?post=231 Released each year as part of National Library Week, ALA's 2008 State of America's Libraries report covers trends in school, public, and academic libraries, as well as specific issues like outreach and diversity, legislation, and intellectual freedom.

Report webpage: http://www.ala.org/ala/pio/presscentera/piopresskits/2008statereport/2008statehome.cfm
Full report: http://www.ala.org/ala/pio/presscentera/piopresskits/2008statereport/draft-0001c-press.pdf
Press Release: http://www.ala.org/ala/pressreleases2008/april2008/2008statereport.cfm

~Nicolle
steffen_n@cde.state.co.us http://www.lrs.org/blog/viewitem.php?post=224 According to U.S. News and World Report, librarianship is one of "31 careers with bright futures." The article says, "Forget about that image of librarian as a mousy bookworm. Librarians these days must be high-tech information sleuths..."

Librarian: Executive Summary
Best Careers 2008 article

~Nicolle
steffen_n@cde.state.co.us
http://www.lrs.org/blog/viewitem.php?post=218 Wondering how many people are looking at that job you posted to LibraryJobline.org? Or how many others are checking out the positions you are applying to? Now you can easily find out that the Young Adult Information Services job at JCPL has been viewed over 400 times in the last week, or that people have looked at Douglas County Libraries' Reference Librarian position over 700 times in the last 2 weeks.

See what jobs people are looking at here:
http://www.libraryjobline.org/stats/hotposts.php


Happy Hunting,
Zeth
http://www.lrs.org/blog/viewitem.php?post=216 Have you ever looked at an hourly salary on a job posting and wanted to quickly know how it translated to an annual wage? Or vice versa? The Library Research Service now provides a simple wage calculator which allows you to provide hours worked per week and an hourly, weekly, monthly, or annual salary, and return wages for all of those time frames. Additionally, this calculator has been integrated into Colorado State Library's LibraryJobline.org. Now, as you look at a job posting, clicking on the word "Calculate" next to the salary information will open up a new window with our wage calculator, preloaded with the salary data for that job.

Zeth
lietzau_z@cde.state.co.us
http://www.lrs.org/blog/viewitem.php?post=214 One year ago today, on January 16, 2007, the Colorado State Library Jobline moved to a new, more interactive home -- www.LibraryJobline.org. In the year it's been up, it has been a huge success -- 680 job positions have been posted in nearly all types of libraries. Almost 500 job seekers have signed up for MyJobline, with 371 of them receiving email notifications and 129 getting personalized RSS feeds sent to them when jobs are posted that meet their criteria. http://www.lrs.org/blog/viewitem.php?post=210 and#8220;The 2007 environmental scan by the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) explores the current atmosphere in the world of academic and research libraries along with trends that will define the future of academic and research librarianship and the research environment.and#8221;

From ALA website: http://www.ala.org/ala/pressreleases2008/january2008/future08.htm

Complete report: http://www.acrl.org/ala/acrl/acrlpubs/whitepapers/Environmental_Scan_2.pdf

~Nicolle
steffen_n@cde.state.co.us http://www.lrs.org/blog/viewitem.php?post=208 Holly Cole, an LRS Alumni, was chosen to be an Emerging Leader with ALA for 2008. Holly is currently working as a Youth Services Librarian/Assistant Branch Manager with the Weber County Library System in Utah. Way to go Holly! We're so proud!!
http://www.lrs.org/blog/viewitem.php?post=186 ALA announced this week that the 2007 edition of the and#8220;ALA-APA Salary Survey: Librarian - Public and Academicand#8221; and and#8220;ALA-APA Salary Survey: Non-MLS - Public and Academicand#8221; are now available. Published by the American Library Association-Allied Professional Association (ALA-APA), the survey reports the median salary for librarians is up 2.8 percent to $57,809 in 2007.

ALA Press Release and ordering information: http://www.ala.org/ala/pressreleases2007/august2007/alaapa07.htm

~Nicolle
steffen_n@cde.state.co.us http://www.lrs.org/blog/viewitem.php?post=178 Do you want to know where library jobs are? Now you can see them on the map.

As the next step in its evolution, LibraryJobline.org now offers maps showing the location of current library job openings in Colorado and elsewhere. There are three ways to access the maps:

and#8226; Check out the locations of all current job openings at http://www.LibraryJobline.org/map.php,
and#8226; Search LibraryJobline.org at http://www.LibraryJobline.org/search.php and view a map of positions that meet your search parameters, or
and#8226; Login to MyJobline ( http://www.LibraryJobline.org/mylogin.php) and view a map of positions that fit your personal criteria

Happy searching!

http://www.lrs.org/blog/viewitem.php?post=176 A recent article in Education Week shares various views on the growth of jobs in libraries and education. One expert is quoted, "from 2004 to 2014, the employment sector composed of library, training, and teaching jobs is anticipated to add nearly 2 million jobsand#8212;a jump of 20 percent." Another expert predicts these jobs will decline 74% by 2030. The article is aptly titled, "Job Skills of the Future in Researchers' Crystal Ball." Read more at http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2007/06/20/42skills.h26.html.

~Nicolle
steffen_n@cde.state.co.us http://www.lrs.org/blog/viewitem.php?post=167 This collection of national statistics about library workers is gathered by the AFL-CIO's Department for Professional Employees from a variety of sources, including the Bureau of Labor Statistics, ARL, ALA, and the Census Bureau.

From ALA's American Libraries Direct (6/6/07): "This handy, annotated compilation includes employment statistics and projections, notes on diversity and pay inequity, the wage gap, institutional variance, benefits, and unionization in the library profession."

This document is packed with interesting tidbits. For example, here are three fun facts to know and telland#8230;

* In 2006, there were 229,000 librarians, 119,000 library assistants, and 113,940 library technicians.

* In addition to [all] library workers being poorly paid because they are predominantly female, those library workers who are women may well be paid less than those who are men.

* Most librarians work in school and academic libraries. About one-fourth work in public libraries.

Check it out at: http://www.dpeaflcio.org/programs/factsheets/fs_2007_library_workers.htm.

~Nicolle
steffen_n@cde.state.co.us
http://www.lrs.org/blog/viewitem.php?post=161