Number and Training of Public Librarians
- Throughout the 1995–2018 time period, the number of public library staff holding the title of “librarian” varied within a narrow band of 15–16 per 100,000 people (Indicator V-19a).1 The share of all library personnel with this title was also quite constant over the 24 years, increasing only slightly, from 33% to 35%.
- The number of master librarians employed by public libraries rose gradually but steadily from 1995 to 2009 (Indicator V-19b).1 After two years of decline, the number began to climb again, so that by 2016 it had surpassed the 2009 level. The 34,103 (full-time equivalent) master librarians working in the nation’s public libraries in 2018 represents an increase of 28% from 1995. Master librarians accounted for 67–70% of the librarians employed by public libraries during the 1995–2018 time period.
- The year 2010 was the first in which the proportion of public libraries with a master librarian on staff surpassed 50% (not pictured). In 2017 (the most recent year for which information was available at time of publication), the share was 53%.3
Endnotes
- 1Based on the total unduplicated population of libraries’ legal service areas, as reported by libraries themselves. A library’s legal service area is the geographical area that by state or local statute a library is mandated to serve. “Unduplicated” refers to the fact that the population figures have been adjusted to compensate for overlapping service areas. To simply sum the populations of all service areas within a state would be to double count those people residing in areas served by more than one library.
- 1A “master” librarian is one holding a master’s degree from a graduate library education program accredited by the American Library Association.
- 32010 data point: D. W. Swan, J. Grimes, T. Owens, R. D. Vese Jr., K. Miller, J. Arroyo, T. Craig et al., Public Libraries Survey: Fiscal Year 2010, IMLS-2013-PLS-01 (Washington, DC: Institute of Museum and Library Services, 2013), 36, http://www.imls.gov/research/public_libraries_in_the_us_fy_2010_report.aspx. 2017 data point: M. Pelczar, L. M. Frehill, K. Williams, and E. Nielsen, Supplementary Tables: Public Libraries in the United States Fiscal Year 2017 (Washington, DC: Institute of Museum and Library Services, 2019), 80, https://www.imls.gov/sites/default/files/fy2017_pls_tables.pdf. Both data points are for those libraries meeting the Federal-State Cooperative system criteria for public libraries (see “About the Data” under either of the graphs for details).
* Based on the total unduplicated population of libraries’ legal service areas. Values are for the 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. Calculations were performed on all libraries treated as public libraries by these jurisdictions, not only those meeting all Federal-State Cooperative System criteria for public libraries (see “About the Data” for details).
Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Public Libraries Survey (1995–2005); and Institute of Museum and Library Services, Public Libraries Survey (2006–2018). Data analyzed and presented by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences’ Humanities Indicators (www.humanitiesindicators.org).
Under the Federal-State Cooperative System, a public library is an entity established under state enabling laws or regulations to serve a community, district, or region, is supported in whole or in part with public funds, and provides at least the following:
1. An organized collection of printed or other library materials, or a combination thereof;
2. Paid staff;
3. An established schedule in which services of the staff are available to the public; and
4. The facilities necessary to support such a collection, staff, and schedule.
A library, in this instance, refers to the administrative entity, which could be a single-outlet library or a multibranch library system. In fiscal year 2017, the most recent year for which information was available at the time of publication, 9,045 libraries operating in the 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia met the criteria above. These entities provided services via 16,557 central and branch libraries, and 672 bookmobiles (M. Pelczar, L. M. Frehill, K. Williams, and E. Nielsen, Supplementary Tables: Public Libraries in the United States Fiscal Year 2017 [Washington, DC: Institute of Museum and Library Services, 2019], 1–2, https://www.imls.gov/sites/default/files/fy2017_pls_tables.pdf).
* A "master" librarian is one holding a master's degree from a graduate library education program accredited by the American Library Association. Values are for the 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. Calculations were performed on all libraries treated as public libraries by these jurisdictions, not only those meeting all Federal-State Cooperative System criteria for public libraries (see "About the Data" for details).
Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Public Libraries Survey (1995–2005); and Institute of Museum and Library Services, Public Libraries Survey (2006–2018). Data analyzed and presented by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences’ Humanities Indicators (www.humanitiesindicators.org).
Under the Federal-State Cooperative System, a public library is an entity established under state enabling laws or regulations to serve a community, district, or region, is supported in whole or in part with public funds, and provides at least the following:
1. An organized collection of printed or other library materials, or a combination thereof;
2. Paid staff;
3. An established schedule in which services of the staff are available to the public; and
4. The facilities necessary to support such a collection, staff, and schedule.
A library, in this instance, refers to the administrative entity, which could be a single-outlet library or a multibranch library system. In fiscal year 2017, the most recent year for which information was available at the time of publication, 9,045 libraries operating in the 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia met the criteria above. These entities provided services via 16,557 central and branch libraries, and 672 bookmobiles (M. Pelczar, L. M. Frehill, K. Williams, and E. Nielsen, Supplementary Tables: Public Libraries in the United States Fiscal Year 2017 [Washington, DC: Institute of Museum and Library Services, 2019], 1–2, https://www.imls.gov/sites/default/files/fy2017_pls_tables.pdf).
