Retirement, Retention, and Recruitment: The Future of Librarianship in Colorado—a recent LRS study—was based on a survey of more than 1,200 library workers statewide in Fall 2003. While the sample for this study could not be obtained randomly, their answers to questions about how library workers themselves perceive librarianship as a profession are intriguing. The […]
According to the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment (CDLE), librarian is among the state’s top jobs requiring a master’s degree through 2012. Employing a projected 2,720 Coloradans in 2012, librarian ranks fifth on projected employment behind physical therapist, market research analyst, educational counselor, and mental health counselor.[note]Technical Note: CDLE’s figures cannot be parsed by […]
Colorado’s public libraries boast a wealth of experienced, educated paraprofessionals, according to responses to Retirement, Retention, and Recruitment: The Future of Librarianship in Colorado, a study recently released by the Library Research Service. Many of them could be in line for credentialed librarian leadership positions in the near future. For the purpose of consistency in […]
Recent trends in library staffing for Colorado public schools are cause for concern. Changes in the numbers of school librarians and library aides between 2000 and 2002, and particularly their changing educational composition, suggest that school librarianship in Colorado is being de-professionalized. Because research links the presence and involvement of professional school librarians with higher […]
Gains in librarian salaries at Colorado’s larger public libraries (i.e., those serving populations of 25,000 or more) have lagged behind salary gains for their counterparts nationally over the last two years. Colorado’s public librarians also earn less than the national average for some types of positions, according to the American Library Association’s (ALA) annual salary […]
The Colorado Department of Labor and Employment (CDLE) projects growth in jobs available in libraries in the coming years. Annual growth in librarian positions in the state is expected to be 1.9 percent, in library assistant positions, 2.8 percent, and for library technicians, 3.2 percent. (Definitions of these terms can be found on page 2 […]
Results from the 2002 Colorado School Library Survey show no increase in the number of endorsed school librarians serving Colorado children. This is disappointing in light of the study How School Librarians Help Kids Achieve Standards (Colorado, 2000) which found that strong school libraries staffed by endorsed and licensed school librarians contribute to measurable improvement […]
The latest data on libraries in Colorado public schools indicates that endorsed, professionally-trained school librarians are not available to students in all schools. More than 25 percent of the state’s public schools have no librarian at all. The shortage of school librarians is especially acute in elementary and combined schools. Almost 30 percent of elementary […]
“Nobody goes into library science to make money.” Nobody knows the truth of this truism better than a library staff member on payday. Professional librarians are required to earn master’s degrees in library and information science. Yet, librarians earn much less than many others in professional and technical fields that do not require such high […]
According to the ALA Survey of Librarian Salaries 2001, the status of compensation for library personnel in Colorado is mixed. The salaries paid to senior management (i.e., director, deputy/associate/assistant director, department head) of the state’s largest libraries (i.e., serving 100,000 or more) are consistently lower than the norms for the West/Southwest region and the nation […]
