(17 Sept 2025) The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) has published the ARL Annual Salary Survey 2024, which analyzes salary data for professional staff working in 123 of the 125 ARL member libraries during 2024. Data are reported for 11,256 professional staff from 118 university ARL libraries in Canada and the United States and for 2,040 professional staff of the 5 US federal, nonprofit, and public ARL libraries. In the Salary Survey, data for university library staff are usually reported in three distinct groups: general library systems, health sciences libraries, and law libraries.
The survey collects information regarding faculty appointments and bargaining unit eligibility. Among US public universities, 76% reported offering faculty appointments and 41% reported bargaining unit eligibility. In comparison, US private universities reported 29% and 16%, while Canadian universities—all public—reported 69% and 81%, reflecting varied approaches to both faculty status and collective bargaining across different types of institutions.
The report also analyzed a total of 9,567 professionals in ARL university libraries, spanning executive leadership, senior managers, managers, and all other professionals. Across all ARL university member institutions, executive leadership roles reported an average of 22 years of professional experience with salaries averaging $177,800, while senior managers averaged 18 years and $112,600. Managers followed with 15 years and $91,400, and other professionals recorded averages of 13 years and $82,300. These results provide ARL members the opportunity to benchmark using experience and compensation across multiple levels of responsibility.
In addition to university libraries, the survey encompasses nonuniversity research libraries, providing a broader view of the research library community. Differences across these categories are reflected in such indicators as salary levels, which are outlined in the Salary Survey introduction and presented in detail in the Salary Survey tables.
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