Librarians select and organize books and other publications and materials and assist readers in their use. Their work is divided into two areas: librarians in user services deal directly with the public, helping them to find the information and materials they need; those in technical services order, classify, and catalog materials and do not usually deal with the public. A librarian in a small or medium-sized library does both types of work.
Librarians are usually classified by the type of library in which they work-public, school, college and university, or special library.
Public librarians work in community libraries and provide a full range of library services for the citizens of the community. Depending on the budget and size of the community, the library staff may include acquisition librarians who purchase books and other materials and help users find what they need, reference librarians who help with specific questions and suggest information sources, and extension or outreach librarians who staff bookmobiles. Children's librarians and adult services librarians may be in charge of services for those particular age groups.
School librarians in elementary and secondary schools instruct students in the use of school library facilities, work with teachers to provide materials that interest students and supplement their classroom work, sometimes participate in team-teaching activities, and develop audio-visual programs.
College and university librarians provide services to students, faculty members, and researchers. Some operate documentation centers that record, store, and retrieve specialized information for university research projects or work in a special field such as law, medicine, or music.
Special librarians work in libraries maintained by government agencies and by commercial and business firms. They build and arrange the organization's information resources and provide materials and services covering subjects of special interest or use to the organization. They may be called upon to conduct a literature search or compile a bibliography on a specific subject.
Information science specialists work in much the same way as special librarians, but they have a more extensive technical and scientific background and greater knowledge of new information-handling techniques. They condense complicated information into readable form and interpret and analyze data for highly specialized clientele. They develop classification systems, prepare coding and programming techniques for computer information storage and retrieval, and develop microfilm technology.
Most librarians work in school and academic libraries. Others work in special and public libraries.
Since many opportunities for part-time work exist in public libraries and because elementary and secondary school librarians work a nine-month year, this is a good job opportunity field for people with family responsibilities.
Places of Employment and Working Conditions
Librarians work in communities of all sizes. A typical workweek is 35 to 40 hours. In public libraries and college and university libraries, this usually includes some evening and weekend work.
Qualifications, Education, and Training
Intellectual curiosity and an interest in helping others are necessary characteristics for a librarian. A knack for organization and a retentive memory are very important.
High school should include courses and activities that develop verbal and language skills in a broad college preparatory program.
A liberal arts degree with a major in the social sciences, the arts, or literature, including course work in library science and a reading knowledge of at least one foreign language, is required for entrance into a graduate program in library science. The one-year or two-year program leads to a master of library science degree (M.L.S.). Those who intend to work as special librarians or information science specialists usually earn a bachelor's degree in their specialty plus a master's or Ph.D. degree in library or information science.
Both undergraduate and graduate programs offer course work in such library specialties as data processing fundamentals and computer languages and the use and development of audio-visual materials. Librarians who intend to work as public school librarians must also complete teaching certification requirements in most states.
A Ph.D. degree is usually necessary for administrative positions in large public library systems and in college and university libraries.
Potential and Advancement
The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that employment of librarians is expected to grow by 2% between 2014 and 2024, slower than the average for all occupations. Limited budgets and slow population growth will lessen the demand for public librarians, and declining enrollments in schools and colleges will result in slow employment. Those trained as information science specialists will be in demand because of the expanding use of computers to store and retrieve information.
Experienced librarians with graduate training can advance to administrative positions. Those who acquire specialized training can advance to special librarian positions or to specialized libraries in government agencies or businesses.
Income
Salaries for librarians depend on individual qualifications and the type, size, and location of the library. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median annual wage of librarians was $56,880 in 2015
Most librarians work full time, although openings happen for part-time work. Public and academic librarians often work on weekends and evenings and may even have to work on some holidays as the likelihood of people visiting libraries on holidays increases. However, school librarians generally have similar work and vacation schedules as teachers, including summers off. Librarians in special libraries, such as law or corporate libraries, characteristically work standard business hours of the company but might have to work lengthier hours to help meet deadlines.
Related Jobs
Related jobs include adult literacy and General Education Development (GED) teacher, archivist, curator, high school teacher, kindergarten and elementary school teacher, middle school teacher, library technician, and library assistant.
