Librarians, Professional
Description OES Code: 31502
Administer libraries and perform related library services. Includes selecting, acquiring, cataloging, classifying, circulating, and maintaining library materials; furnishing reference, bibliographical, and reader's advisory services. May select music, films, or other audio-visual material for programs.

Wages, California
Entry-Level Hourly Wage $16.21
25th Percentile $19.03
50th Percentile $23.77
75th Percentile $28.62

Wages, San Joaquin
Entry-Level Hourly Wage $12.15
25th Percentile $12.77
50th Percentile $18.37
75th Percentile $28.97

Wages by California County
• OES Survey
• CCOIS Survey

Hours & Benefits
Librarians typically work a five day, 35- to 40-hour work week, although many Librarians work part-time or on an on-call basis. Public and academic Librarians may work evenings and weekends. Special Librarians often work normal business hours. Public school Librarians usually work six hours a day, 41 weeks a year, while most other Librarians normally work 40 hours a week for the entire year.

Fringe benefits include paid holidays, vacations and sick leave, partially or fully paid health and life insurance and retirement plans.

Employment Trends, California
Employment 1998 11,000
Projected Employment 2008 12,700
Percent Change 1998-2008 15.5%
Separations 1998-2008 3,000

Employment Trends, San Joaquin County
Employment 1999 140
Projected Employment 2006 150
Percent Change 1999-2006 7.1%
Separations 1999-2006 30

Employment Trends by California County

Many public libraries have had their operating hours reduced in response to reductions in government budgets. This has affected the job prospects for librarians.

Job opportunities will also arise as Librarians leave the workforce. Persons with experience and training in a library specialization will have the greatest chance of being hired. In some areas it has been difficult to fill the positions of Children's Librarian, Cataloger, Ethnic Librarian, and Documents Librarian.

Advancement
Librarians can advance to administrative positions or to more specialized work. Promotions usually come with the acquisition of experience and administrative skills, knowledge of automated systems and additional training. Advancement opportunities are greater in the larger library systems.

Eligibility for promotion in civil service is based on experience; qualified workers take written and oral tests for advanced positions.

Getting the Job & Other Information
Applicants for Librarian positions should contact local, State and federal civil service offices, college placement offices and the professional associations for job listings.

For a list of current job listing, browse CalJOBS or America's Job Bank.

Education and Training
California public library systems usually require a master's degree in library science from a school accredited by the American Library Association. Students in their final year may be hired as interns in some systems. Acceptance into a library science program usually requires graduation from a four-year college with a B average, a reading knowledge of a foreign language and an acceptable score on the Graduate Record Examination. Accredited schools in California are the University of California at Berkeley, San Jose State University, and the University of California at Los Angeles. Applicants for special library positions must have appropriate education. Public school Librarians need both a teaching credential and a school library media teaching credential, which entails the completion of a program of librarianship approved by the State Commission for Teacher Preparation and Licensing.

Skills & Other Requirements
Librarians may be required to obtain, preserve, organize and distribute knowledge and information in a variety of formats; demonstrate and explain library facilities and procedures; arrange displays; conduct research; answer information questions and advise readers on the selection of materials.

Depending on area of specialization, librarians may also be expected to purchase books, periodicals, newspapers, films, recordings and other types of material; examine, classify and organize materials based on subject matter or standardized library classification systems; direct patrons to reference sources; aid them in researching information, explain the use of equipment; obtain requested information from data retrieval systems; select books for children; show children how to use the library; organize and conduct story hours and film programs

References
California Occupational Guide #154

Related Occupations: Library Assistants

Training: California Training and Education Providers (CTEP)