Contrary to popular opinion, a career in library science of training is not, as it was considered, the province of those older females who have no prospects, of the lonely bookish man. These are for nearly anyone who enjoys reading, helping others to learn and grow and who likes the challenge of meeting new people and new situations on an hourly basis.
Library science and education is a challenging field with a great deal to learn to provide for a career there. In the United States, the American Library Association and the Organization for the Advancement of Library Employees advocates the improvement of salaries and conditions for nearly all library workers. This means that at times they are not paid what their education and work efforts are worth strictly speaking.
The average salary for a librarian in 2006 was about $51,000 with salary ranges from $22,000 to $250,000 at the upper level. Educational requirements for librarians are about the same as for a teacher or instructor with some minimal differences dependent upon which area of library science or which type of librarian you wish to become.
For a Teacher-Librarian the mandatory requirements for an entry level position in this field will be:
1. That you obtain a bachelors degree from any accredited institution of higher learning
2. Hold a masters degree in library science, educational media or school library media
3. Have a provisional or professional teaching license
4. Have completed a one year teaching experience or internship in the classroom
5. Pass the library content area test.
To become a school librarian the recommended educational values are different, somewhat less stringent than for those of a Teacher Librarian. These will include:
1. Get your bachelors degree from a university or college.
2. Hold a provisional teaching license of a professional teaching license
3. May or may not have classroom teaching experience
For the School Librarian licensure there are some other methods to achieve this which may be helpful for those who are not in a position to accomplish the first set of criterion.
Those methods will include:
A. Complete all the requirements necessary to get your provisional or professional teaching license through an approved ATPP (Alternative Teaching Preparation Program) or a Teacher in Residence program
B. Complete thirty hours or more of graduate level library science programs.
C. Complete 24 or more hours of graduate level library science programs for an added endorsement
D. Pass the library content test
The Bureau of Labor and Statistics offers a set of trends and statistics for the position of Librarian and publishes a Library workers fact sheet which is available for your perusal at Department of Labor.
http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos068.htm
The typical concepts of the librarian have changed drastically in recent years and as such new opportunities have arisen in many areas that were not thought to be the province of a librarian per se. Librarians are now needed to work in places that house some of the more advanced types of media such as micro film, CD-ROM and remote access libraries. As a consequence, the position of librarian is far more technically oriented than it has been at any time in history.
Librarians have the task of assisting people to find many kinds of information that is used for anything from professional to personal to employment related and must often do so when the given information is minimal in nature. They also manage staff, accounts and the aspects of the library that require their input. Library science today meets several types of work load that include management, technical and administrative and as such are required to know more or learn more daily.
Some companies do not pay their librarians according to these factors but instead pay them according to a national scale of what is the norm in their area, taking into account in some cases additional educational expertise. As a general rule, the larger the area or library, the higher the pay scale will be.
Libraries which pay a fair or above average wage to their workers include: The United States Federal Government, at about $75,000 per year. Canadian government. at about $20.00 per hour. Salaries will vary according to individual qualifications aside from type and location of the library.
Colleges and universities will pay approximately $50,00 per year, while elementary and secondary schools in the United States will pay about $48,000. Local governments and municipalities will pay about $42,000 per annum.(Facts gleaned from US Dept of Labor)
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