ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries


Library Manpower 
Requirem ents Studied

The U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of 
Labor Statistics has recently issued a report en­
titled "Library Manpower— a Study of Require­
ments and Supply.” Highlights of the report 
follow:

Employment in libraries is expected to grow 
more slowly over the 1970-85 period than dur­
ing the decade of the 1960s. The total number 
of persons in library occupations is projected 
to rise from about 235,000 in 1970 to 374,000 
in 1985. In line with recent trends, employment 
of library attendants and assistants is expected 
to rise more sharply than that of librarians, as 
nonprofessional staff members are assigned in­
creasing responsibility for routine library work. 
Between 1970 and 1985, total librarian employ­
ment is projected to rise from 115,000 to 
167,000, or 41 percent; employment of attend­
ants and assistants is expected to increase from 
120,000 to 212,000, or 77 percent. Compared 
with the rapid expansion which took place in 
the 1960s—much of it stimulated by unprece­
dented levels of federal support for library ser­
vices—employment growth over the projected 
period is expected to be much slower. Further­
more, growth is expected to be slowest during 
the 1970s, with much of the overall 1970-85 in­
crease occurring after 1980.

Employment of school librarians is projected 
to grow from 52,000 in 1970 to nearly 80,000 
by 1985. Much of this growth will not occur 
until the 1980s, when school enrollments are 
projected to turn sharply upward.

Employment of public librarians is projected 
to rise from 26,500 in 1970 to 33,000 by 1985. 
Contributing to the relatively slow growth of 
librarian employment in public libraries is the 
increasing utilization of paraprofessional per­
sonnel in these libraries.

Employment of academic librarians is pro­
jected to rise from 19,000 in 1970 to 27,000 in 
1985. Most of this growth will occur during the 
1970s, because of rising college-level enroll­
ments. Employment growth in academic li­
braries is expected to come to a virtual halt 
after 1980, however, because of the anticipated 
drop in enrollments.

Employment of special librarians is projected 
to rise from 17,000 to 22,500 between 1970 
and 1985. The demand for special librarians 
represents a net reflection of changing occupa­
tional patterns in those industries employing 
special librarians.

The main source of demand for librarians

through 1985 will be replacement require­
ments. The number of librarians needed to re­
place those who retire, die, or leave the labor 
force for other reasons will greatly exceed the 
number required to fill newly added positions. 
Over the entire 1970-85 period, replacement 
needs are expected to account for three out of 
four job openings for librarians—compared to 
less than half of the openings in the 1960s.

To meet projected requirements for growth 
and for replacement, job openings for librarians 
are expected to average 11,200 a year between 
1970 and 1985. Based on past patterns of entry 
into the profession by new bachelor’s and mas­
ter’s library science degree recipients, an esti­
mated 9,000 new graduates are likely to enter 
the labor force as librarians every year from 
1970 to 1985. This means that the number of 
jobs open to persons other than new graduates 
is likely to be sharply curtailed. Only 2,200 
jobs a year are expected to be available to per­
sons seeking reentry, delayed entry, or transfer 
to the occupation. While in the 1960-70 period 
new graduates filled about 40 percent of all 
openings, they will be available to fill 80 per­
cent of openings created by growth and re­
placement needs in the 1970-85 period. The 
employment situation for persons other than 
new graduates is likely to deteriorate according­
ly.

Educational requirements for beginning li­
brarians have been upgraded substantially in 
the past five to ten years. As a result, job pros­
pects in the 1970s and 1980s for entering li­
brarians without the graduate degree in librari- 
anship appear to be severely limited. Such 
openings probably will be found, for the most 
part, in small libraries where the salary level is 
too low to attract fully trained personnel.

Despite the generally tight job market for be­
ginning librarians, demand is expected to re­
main strong over the 1970-85 period for library 
personnel with certain types of specialized 
training: community outreach personnel, me- 
dia/audiovisual specialists, and computer spe­
cialists. B B

ACRL Membership
March 31, 1974 ........  11 520
March 31, 1973 ................................. 13,687
March 31, 1972 ................................. 10,395

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