2005 LTAIG Salary Survey

Highest Level of Non-Library Education

Many respondents indicated that they have post-secondary education in addition to their library training: 33% have obtained a bachelor’s degree and 3% have completed a master’s degree.

Figure 2. Many library technicians have post-secondary education
in addition to their library training.

*Other non-library education includes:
high school, correspondence courses, continuing education courses.

Current Employment Trends

Approximately 88% of respondents are currently working in a library setting, with a majority of those (37%) employed in an academic library. Almost 70% of all respondents indicated that their current positions have permanent status and full-time hours.  Only 5% are using their skills in a non-library environment.  (Note: There were 760 responses to this question with a total of 945 selections made, causing the percentage total to exceed 100%, showing that many library technicians are working in multiple locations or settings.)

Figure 3. Library workers are applying their skills in a variety of settings,
and in some cases multiple locations.

*Other: Volunteering in a non-library setting, library board.

Library technicians and support staff are finding jobs in a variety of libraries. Academic libraries are the biggest employers (34%) while special libraries* are second (26%), followed by school (18%) and public (17%) libraries.  30 respondents (1%) indicated they are self-employed, demonstrating that entrepreneurial opportunities exist for those with library technical skills.

*Special libraries include corporate, government, legal and medical libraries as well as 17 responses provided in the ‘Other’ category including:  resource centres, regional library systems, a consortium library, church library, humane society library, and an accounting library.

Figure 4. Library technicians are working in a variety of settings,
with academic libraries being the largest employer.

It is encouraging to see that almost 70% of library technicians responding to our survey are working on a permanent, full-time basis.  17% are working on a permanent part-time basis and 10% are employed in temporary contract/on-call positions.  Since many of the contract and on-call jobs have the potential to become permanent employment, the job outlook for library technicians and support staff in Canada remains positive.

It should be noted that these figures do not take into account those who currently hold more than one position.  Some respondents indicated they are working a combination of part-time positions in order to obtain full time hours, working on a seasonal basis, or working as student assistants while completing their studies.

Figure 5. Almost 70% of library technicians are working full-time, although the
survey shows that some are working more than one job to obtain full-time hours.

Wage Range

The wage range for library technicians working across Canada is $15.28 to $27.00 with a national average of $20.03, based on 619 responses. Wages reported by respondents in Alberta and British Columbia are in line with the national average. (Results may not be representative of all Canadian provinces, due to the disproportionate number of responses from each province).

Table 2. Hourly wage of library technicians in Canada, by province.
*National total excludes responses from the United States.

Definitions:

Average - (Arithmetic mean) The numerical result obtained by adding all relevant figures and dividing by the number of figures.
Median - The middle number of series.
Mode - The number that occurs most frequently in a series.

 

Data gathered indicate that library technicians employed in a corporate, medical or non-profit setting earn the highest wage with an average of $20.78 per hour. Perhaps the biggest surprise from this group are those working in a non-profit environment. Respondents working in academic, government, legal, public or school libraries reported an average of $18.23 per hour. The wage gap between different library types appears to have narrowed considerably. Wage variation appears to depend, instead, on expected task assignment outlined by the individual job description. Respondents working in a non-library setting indicate an average wage of approximately $10.00 per hour.

Figure 6: A consistent hourly wage across library type
shows that the wage gap that once existed is narrowing.

*Other includes: church library, library consortium,
special resource centre.

Job Title

The most common job titles reported are ‘Library Technician’ (39%), followed by ‘Library Assistant” (21%). 28% of respondents report different job titles, although some of the tasks performed might be similar.

Other job titles include: Circulation Supervisor, Student Assistant, Information Resource Technician/Specialist, Office Manager, Technologist, Coordinator, Records Analyst, Program Coordinator, Consultant, Research Information Specialist, Acquisition and Cataloguing Coordinator, Library Manager, Coordinator of Media Services, Information Coordinator, Page, Cataloguing Supervisor, Library Support Specialist, Manager of Circulation, Administrative Support, Library Systems Administrator, Archives Clerk, Library Services Worker, Human Resources Manager, Reference Technician, Archival Assistant, Specialist Advisor, Public Services Librarian, Chat Reference Librarian, Senior Reference/Collections Assistant, Communications Director, Database Management Specialist, Resource Room Technician, Web Assistant, Lead Hand, Processor, Support Analyst, Reserves Technician, Academic Technologies Coordinator, Youth Services Technician, Public Services Assistant, Media Specialist, Operational Assistant, Branch Coordinator, Student Monitor, Knowledge Manager, Shelver, Information Analyst, Computer Operator, Business Research Coordinator, Chief Librarian, Records Administrator, Implementation Specialist, Circulation Assistant, and Records Manager.

Figure 7. Paraprofessional staff in libraries have various job titles.

Educational Requirements

73% of respondents report that their current position requires a Library Technician Diploma. 21% report that the diploma is not required for their position. 6% are unsure if the diploma is a requirement.

Examination of the positions requiring the diploma qualification shows that the Library Technician Diploma is being used as a hiring standard even for jobs referred to as something other than a library technician position. 4% of Library Clerks and 14% of Library Assistants indicate that the Library Technician Diploma is required for their position. This pattern is visible in cases with other job titles as well, suggesting job title alone is not necessarily a good indicator of job description.

Table 3: Proportion of positions requiring a
Library Technician Diploma, by job title.

Job Responsibilities

Library Technical task assignments are extremely varied. The most common job responsibilities reported are as follows:

Technical/administrative responsibilities

filing/shelving/shelf-reading (62.3%)*
cataloguing/classification (54.3%)
training of staff or volunteers (51.4%)
supervising staff/volunteers (47.3%)
acquisitions (46.01%)
collection development (45.4%)
serials processing/management (41%)

Public service responsibilities

reference (69.6%)
circulation (67.2%)
computer/technical assistance for patrons (58.3%)
patron orientation/library tours (43.5%)
displays (e.g. special events/books/topics) (42.4%)
interlibrary loan/document delivery (40.6%)

Less common responsibilities reported include current awareness services, producing guides/cheat sheets/ newsletters, storytelling, software training for external clients, and reservations/bookings, policy creation, administration, contract negotiation, retrospective conversion, fundraising, and desktop publishing.

*Figures given in this section indicate the proportion of respondents indicating that they perform these duties as a normal part of their job tasks.

Duration of Library Career

The results reveal a wide range of library work experience. 25% of survey respondents are relatively new to the library setting and report their employment duration at 1 to 5 years. 22% of respondents have 6 to 10 years of library experience, 18% have 11 to 15 years experience, and 14% have 16 to 20 years. Three of the respondents reported more than 35 years of library service. The number of workers entering and staying in this field is encouraging and indicates a general level of job satisfaction greater than that of other careers.

Figure 8. Survey respondents indicate a general trend for employment duration
that is encouraging, with a range extending from 1 to over 40 years.

Volunteering

49% of respondents reported having volunteer experience with a library and, interestingly, the outcomes of these experiences are as varied as the types of libraries listed and the duties involved.

The two most popular types of libraries mentioned in this section were public libraries/library systems and school libraries/library boards (where people have volunteered as students or, more commonly, parents). The volunteers in these libraries reported doing just about everything: cataloguing, processing, circulation, book displays, reference/reader's advisory, literacy program, book sales and more. Volunteering in special libraries was also common; with not-for-profit organization libraries/resource centres, medical facility libraries, and libraries in churches and art galleries mentioned. Many people also mentioned post-secondary archives and map collections where tasks most commonly performed were serials, database/spreadsheet tasks, developing classification schemes, filing, news clipping, etc.

Some of the most interesting volunteering experiences we heard about weren't in libraries at all. Expo '86, the Edmonton Folk Music Festival, and CKUA Radio all employed volunteers in varying library/records/archiving capacities.

Many of the respondents indicated that volunteering had led to paid job opportunities in the library field (mainly clerk/assistant positions, maternity leave coverage, etc.). We have all been told that volunteering looks good on a resume but the survey analysis illuminated the indirect benefits to volunteering that we might otherwise overlook: self-discovery, boost in self-confidence, and transferable skills that can be gained from volunteering. For many, a volunteer position piqued their interest in the library field inspiring them to enter a technician or MLS program. And of course, the contacts made in a volunteer position were able to provide references and information that led directly to job opportunities.

Respondents’ Comments

We were pleased with the variety and quality of feedback we received from those who took the time to participate in the survey. Respondents sounded off on two main topics: questions they would like to have seen included in the survey, and advocacy/employment issues. There were also numerous comments on the design of the survey, both positive and negative. Overall, respondents were pleased to participate in this survey and look forward to the results. Many hope to be able to use the results to personal advantage in their individual employment scenario.

Many respondents would like to have been asked questions about how long it took after graduation to find relevant work, salary scales, on the job training, goals and interests of technicians, how many library jobs held, preparedness for work after graduation, possibility for advancement, and teaching/training opportunities.

Many of those surveyed also felt strongly about advocacy/employment issues such as proper recognition and use of "Library Technician" as a job title, perpetual overwork, under funding of libraries, hiring policies vs. reality (bureaucracy/red tape), job market trends, overabundance of casual/on-call/part-time positions and the shortage of full-time positions, union/non-union salary discrepancy. Also of concern is the situation of technicians working in school libraries, including such issues as downsizing, minimum education requirements, and solo technicians.

We have taken all suggestions under consideration, and hope to provide an even better survey next time.

We thank everyone for participating.