Librarian Salary
A librarian is a professional having training in the field of organization and management of libraries or information centers. To become a librarian, one needs to have certain basic qualifications like, a master's degree in library science from an institution accredited by the American Library Association, along with computer skills, organization skills and effective communication skills. A Bachelor's degree in library science may help to get a job in some places like, school libraries. But for better prospects, it is advisable to get a Master's degree in the subject.
What Does a Librarian Do?
The main duty of librarians is to manage the information center or the library effectively. Their main job is to maintain an environment conducive for learning, while providing all the necessary facilities to the readers or the users. He also have to assist the users to find out the information they need. In general, a librarian is assigned the job of handling almost all aspects of library operations, which include administrative responsibilities, selecting and purchasing books, journals and other materials and arranging them in a proper way, so that the users can find them easily. In addition to these, he has to oversee the planning, coordination and proper management of the information center.
Basically, he is concerned with providing three types of services, user service, technical service and administrative service. In some places, he specializes in any of these three areas. A librarian specializing in user service deals with the users directly and assists them in finding the appropriate information. If he specializes in technical services, then his job is concerned with acquiring, preparing, as well as classifying the materials in a manner that users can find them easily. Lastly, he specializes in administrative services, then he has to take up planning and managerial responsibilities. He is responsible for providing the materials and services, preparing budgets, fundraising, establishing long-term goals and supervising all the functions of the information center and its employees.
How Much Does a Librarian Make?
The salary of a librarian depends on many factors, out of which the most important is the experience of the librarian. It also depends on the type and size of the organizations. Usually, librarians get jobs in public and academic libraries, schools, museums, corporations, universities, government agencies, law firms and also in medical centers and laboratories. Even the particular area of specialization can be an important determinant of the salary that can be earned by a librarian. In addition to these, his earnings can differ from one location to another.
It has been observed that average salary of librarians in United States is around USD 50,000 per annum. Usually, it can be somewhere between USD 33,000 to more than USD 81,000. But, most librarians can expect to earn around USD 50,000 per annum or slightly higher than this figure. With experience, they can expect a rise in this figure. Usually, librarians holding good administrative positions have been observed to earn better salary. The same thing is also observed in the case of those with advanced degree.
