(3 May 2017) The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) has published the ARL Annual Salary Survey 2015–2016, which analyzes salary data for professional staff working in the 124 ARL member libraries during 2015–2016. Data are reported for 10,111 professional staff in the 114 university ARL libraries and for 3,716 professional staff in the 10 non-university 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 2015–2016 data show that salaries for professional staff in Canadian and US ARL libraries surpassed inflation. The median salary for professionals in US ARL university libraries in 2015–2016 was $71,203, an increase of 1.7% over the 2014–2015 median salary of $70,000. The US CPI rose 0.2% during the same period. The Canadian CPI rose 1.3%, and median salaries in Canadian university libraries increased from $92,000 (Canadian dollars) to $94,236 (Canadian dollars), a rise of 2.4%.
The ARL Annual Salary Survey 2015–2016 analyzes salary data from a number of different perspectives, including race, ethnicity, and gender. Minority librarians make up 14.9% of the professional staff in US ARL university libraries; the percentage of minorities in managerial or administrative positions is lower. Women comprise 68.4% of minority staff members. Gender-based salary differentials persist in ARL libraries in 2015–2016. The overall salary for women in the 115 ARL university libraries is 95.4% of that paid to men.
Other characteristics of ARL university libraries, such as size, public/private status, and location are also significant determinants of salary. The current state of these indicators is outlined in the Salary Survey’s introduction and extensive tables.
The announcement in full including ordering information is here.
