Library employment statistics show two different labor-market patterns: professional librarian and library media specialist employment is projected to grow modestly, while technician and assistant employment is projected to decline. The latest figures also show wide differences in pay, workplace, and geographic concentration.
Table of contents
- Library employment at a glance
- Librarian and library media specialist jobs
- Librarian wages and education
- Where librarian jobs are concentrated
- Library technicians and assistants
- Technician and assistant employment settings
- States and metropolitan areas for library technicians
Library employment at a glance
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) counted 142,100 jobs for librarians and library media specialists in 2024. In the same year, library technicians and assistants held 163,100 jobs. These totals describe two related but distinct occupational groups, so they should not be added together as though they were one official combined category. (BLS OOH librarians page; BLS OOH library technicians page)
The groups also have different outlooks for 2024 to 2034:
- Employment of librarians and library media specialists is projected to grow 2 percent.
- Employment of library technicians and assistants is projected to decline 7 percent.
- About 13,500 openings for librarians and library media specialists are projected each year, on average.
- About 25,800 openings for library technicians and assistants are projected each year, on average.
The projected annual openings are not the same as net employment growth. They can include positions created by people leaving an occupation as well as positions associated with changing employment levels. The BLS figures therefore point to ongoing hiring activity in both groups, even though their projected directions differ. (BLS OOH librarians page; BLS OOH library technicians page)
| Occupational group | Employment in 2024 | Projected change, 2024–2034 | Average annual openings, 2024–2034 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Librarians and library media specialists | 142,100 jobs | 2% growth | 13,500 |
| Library technicians and assistants | 163,100 jobs | 7% decline | 25,800 |
These figures are national BLS measures. They do not describe a particular public library system, county, or state, and the occupational definitions differ between the source pages.
Librarian and library media specialist jobs
Librarians and library media specialists held 142,100 jobs in 2024. The occupation includes professional roles connected with library collections, information services, and media resources. The supplied BLS occupational outlook data identifies a typical entry-level education of a master’s degree for this group. It also reports that no related work experience is typically required and that no on-the-job training is typically required. (BLS OOH librarians page)
The projected 2 percent increase from 2024 to 2034 is a national forecast rather than a guarantee for every employer or local labor market. The same BLS outlook source estimates about 13,500 openings per year, on average, during that decade. Because the forecast is measured across ten years, the annual number is an average and should not be read as an exact count for every calendar year. (BLS OOH librarians page)
For readers comparing career paths, the combination of a master’s degree as the typical entry-level education and the absence of typical experience or on-the-job-training requirements describes the standard profile reported by the BLS. It does not mean every library employer uses identical hiring requirements. Individual job announcements may set additional requirements, preferred qualifications, or local eligibility rules.
The professional category also has a broad wage range. In May 2024, the lowest 10 percent of librarians and library media specialists earned less than $38,920, while the highest 10 percent earned more than $100,880. These are percentile thresholds, not minimum and maximum salaries. Most workers fall between them, and a worker’s pay can vary by employer type, location, experience, schedule, and responsibilities. (BLS OOH librarians page)
Librarian wages and education
The median annual wage for librarians and library media specialists was $64,320 in May 2024. For context, the BLS source reports a $57,100 median annual wage for librarians, curators, and archivists and a $49,500 median annual wage for all occupations in the same month. These comparison figures use the measurement period stated by the BLS and should not be treated as forecasts. (BLS OOH librarians page)
Median pay also varied by the industry and public-sector category reported in May 2024.
| Employer category | Median annual wage, May 2024 |
|---|---|
| Elementary and secondary schools; local | $69,880 |
| Colleges, universities, and professional schools; state | $68,570 |
| Colleges, universities, and professional schools; private | $66,260 |
| Local government, excluding education and hospitals | $60,510 |
| Web search portals, libraries, archives, and other information services | $59,810 |
The highest listed median in this set was $69,880 for librarians and library media specialists in local elementary and secondary schools. The lowest was $59,810 in web search portals, libraries, archives, and other information services. These are medians for the named categories, not salary offers for every position in those settings. (BLS OOH librarians page)
The professional median of $64,320 was also higher than the $49,500 median for all occupations reported in the same BLS source. Comparing medians can help place library pay in a broader labor-market context, but it does not account for differences in education, hours, job duties, benefits, or geography. (BLS OOH librarians page)
Where librarian jobs are concentrated
BLS May 2024 area data provides employment counts for librarians and media collections specialists in selected metropolitan areas. The largest listed employment count was in New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ, with 9,570 workers. The next listed counts were 3,720 in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV, 3,700 in Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH, and 3,300 in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN. (BLS OEWS 2024 area chart)
| Metropolitan area | Employment, May 2024 |
|---|---|
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | 9,570 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | 3,720 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | 3,700 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN | 3,300 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | 3,180 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | 2,750 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | 2,450 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | 1,980 |
| Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX | 1,890 |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA | 1,880 |
The remaining listed metropolitan counts range from 1,880 in Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell to 9,570 in New York-Newark-Jersey City. Los Angeles had 3,180, Dallas had 2,750, Philadelphia had 2,450, San Francisco had 1,980, and Houston had 1,890. These are area employment estimates for May 2024, not rankings of library quality or measures of public-library usage. (BLS OEWS 2024 area chart)
The metropolitan data also uses the label “librarians and media collections specialists,” while the national outlook data uses “librarians and library media specialists.” The labels should be kept distinct because the source tables may use different occupational classifications or presentation conventions.
Library technicians and assistants
Library technicians and assistants held 163,100 jobs in 2024, a larger reported employment total than the 142,100 jobs held by librarians and library media specialists. Within the technician-and-assistant group, library assistants, clerical held about 84,500 jobs, while library technicians held about 78,600 jobs. The “about” wording is part of the BLS presentation and signals rounded figures. (BLS OOH library technicians page)
The median hourly wage for library technicians and assistants was $18.05 in May 2024. The BLS source separately reports a $19.22 median hourly wage for library technicians and a $17.31 median hourly wage for library assistants, clerical. These are hourly medians, so they should not be converted into annual salaries without assumptions about hours, weeks, paid leave, or full-time status. (BLS OOH library technicians page)
The projected outlook for the combined group is a 7 percent decline from 2024 to 2034. Even with that projected decline, the BLS estimates about 25,800 openings per year, on average, over the same period. As with the professional group, the annual openings estimate reflects average projected openings and is not a promise of a fixed number of vacancies in each year. (BLS OOH library technicians page)
The wage difference within this group is measurable: the reported median for library technicians was $1.91 per hour above the combined technician-and-assistant median, while the median for library assistants, clerical was $0.74 below it. Those differences are direct comparisons of the supplied May 2024 medians, not estimates of individual wage progression. (BLS OOH library technicians page)
Technician and assistant employment settings
The BLS occupational data shows different employment patterns for library assistants, clerical and library technicians.
For library assistants, clerical, local government excluding education and hospitals employed 61 percent. Educational services at the state, local, and private levels employed 28 percent, while web search portals, libraries, archives, and other information services employed 9 percent. These percentages describe the distribution supplied for the occupation and are not counts of all library workers. (BLS OOH library technicians page)
For library technicians, local government excluding education and hospitals employed 56 percent. Elementary and secondary schools at the local level employed 15 percent. Junior colleges, colleges, universities, and professional schools at the state and local levels employed 13 percent, while private junior colleges, colleges, universities, and professional schools employed 6 percent. Web search portals, libraries, archives, and other information services employed another 6 percent. (BLS OOH library technicians page)
| Occupation | Largest listed setting | Share | Other listed settings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Library assistants, clerical | Local government, excluding education and hospitals | 61% | Educational services, 28%; information services, 9% |
| Library technicians | Local government, excluding education and hospitals | 56% | Local elementary and secondary schools, 15%; state and local higher education, 13%; private higher education, 6%; information services, 6% |
The two distributions suggest that local government is the leading listed employment setting for both occupations, although the reported shares are not identical. The source categories also separate education levels and public versus private institutions, so they should not be combined into a single simplified employment percentage. (BLS OOH library technicians page)
States and metropolitan areas for library technicians
BLS May 2023 state data counted 8,700 library technicians in California, 5,020 in Ohio, 4,320 in Texas, 4,000 in Florida, and 3,880 in Illinois. These are state employment counts measured in May 2023, one year earlier than the national 2024 figures cited above. They should not be treated as current 2024 totals or compared as though all source tables used the same year. (BLS OEWS 2023 library technicians page)
The same May 2023 source reports mean wages for selected locations. Washington paid library technicians a mean hourly wage of $28.84 and a mean annual wage of $59,990. The District of Columbia paid a mean hourly wage of $27.71 and a mean annual wage of $57,640. These are means rather than medians, and the source gives both hourly and annual measures directly. (BLS OEWS 2023 library technicians page)
Selected metropolitan employment counts for library technicians in May 2023 were 3,460 in New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA; 2,830 in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI; 2,290 in Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA; 2,010 in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV; and 1,370 in Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH. The metropolitan labels include their stated geographic areas and should be read exactly as reported. (BLS OEWS 2023 library technicians page)
The May 2023 location-quotient figures identify places where library technician employment was especially concentrated relative to the relevant employment base used by the BLS measure. Springfield, Ohio, had a location quotient of 9.46; Mansfield, Ohio, had 4.27; Gainesville, Florida, had 3.71; and Fairbanks, Alaska, had 3.46. A location quotient is a concentration measure, not a headcount, wage, or forecast. (BLS OEWS 2023 library technicians page)