Librarians: Which library hires librarians the most: Academic or Public?

Having worked in both college and public libraries, it's going to vary very much, based on the size of the library and the specific economic situation. A large academic library system, with lots of subject specialists/bibliographers (think of large state universities, Ivy League schools, etc.) will have more librarians at any given time and, presumably, more turnover over time. Likewise for large public libraries, which may staff branches, have their own subject specialists (think business, genealogy, electronic resources, and so on), etc.

Smaller libraries of either type may be more likely to have only a few professional librarians and less "churn" in their staffing.

Like much of the rest of the job market, the librarian field is a tough one to break into right now. Budgets for the creation of new positions are very tight and librarians who might have been about to retire a few years ago are holding on until their portfolios improve.

That said, it does look right now that academics are doing a bit more hiring than publics. If you visit the ALA JobList board today (12/12), it shows 96 positions requiring masters' or above in academic libraries, while only 30 in publics (this clearly is only a sample of what might actually be out there).

http://joblist.ala.org/

Obviously, though, the wider you can cast your net, the better. If you feel suited to do either type of library, I'd keep looking at both. If you've got geographic flexibility, that helps even more. Keep in mind that, in this job market, part-time positions might give you a good foot in the door (although the benefits part can be tough).

Good luck!

--Bill Pardue

Arlington Heights Memorial Library http://www.ahml.info/

Librarians--Ask Us, We Answer!

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I'm here in Pittsburgh, and the school's not hiring librarians, as they're cutting down "related arts" and expanding reading, reading intervention specialists, and mathematics teachers. At the same time, the Carnegie Libraries are talking about closing a bunch of branches. Maybe it's not like that around the country.

Additionally, don't become a school librarian if you don't want to teach. Being and librarian and being a school librarian are 2 different things, like night and day. The school will fill your day up with classes. As a teacher, I would consider becoming a librarian in a public library, but I would not at a school. School librarians have it tough, because you're treated as a prep period for the other teachers, so likely you'll see students once a week, and never get to know them well enough to even gain a useful learning environment.