ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries 120 / C&RL News A cadem ic lib rarian salaries, 1 9 8 7 - 1 9 8 8 By Mary Jo Lynch Director A L A Office fo r Research A summary o f the CUP A survey o f administrative compensation. The College and University Personnel Associa- tion (CUPA) has conducted a survey of adm inistra­ tive compensation each year for the past eleven years. Selection of surveyed positions is based on an analysis of those positions common to most higher education institutions. Tables on librarian salaries draw n from CUPA’s 1986-1987 Adm inistrative Compensation Survey were published in the De­ cember, 1987 C&RL News. This article shows li­ brarian salaries from the 1987-1988 edition. Per­ mission of CUPA to use their d ata in this way is gratefully acknowledged.1 The 1987-1988 CUPA survey reports on 165 po­ sitions, including “D irector, L ibrary Services,” “C irculation L ib rarian ,” “Acquisitions L ib rar­ ian ,” “Technical Services Librarian” “Public Ser­ vices L ibrarian,” and “Reference L ibrarian.” For all positions, salaries are summarized for control (i.e., public or private), three levels of program 1R ich ard C. Creal, Jan P. Miller, and John M. Toller, 1987-1988 Administrative Compensation Survey (Washington, D .C .: College and Univer­ sity Personnel Association, 1988). Available from CUPA at 1233 Twentieth Street, N .W ., Suite 503, Washington, DC 20036. Price to members, $55; price to non-members who participated in study, $145; price to others, $250. ISBN 0-910402-28-0. (i.e., university, 4-year college, 2-year college), en­ rollment by quartile, and budget size by quartile. Tables in this article were created manually by se­ lecting data on library director’s salaries wherever they appear on the fifty-seven basic tables in the CUPA report. In addition, sum m ary tables are shown for the five other librarian positions. De­ tailed tables, similar to those shown for Director, have been prepared for the five other positions and are available from CUPA for $5.00 and a SASE (with $.45 postage). Send requests to: College and University Personnel Association, 1233 Twentieth St., N .W ., Suite 503, W ashington, DC 20036; (202) 429-0311. Prepayment must accompany re­ quests for the tables. Tables for the five positions are available only as a set. Two changes in the 1987-1988 CUPA report will be of interest to those seeking to compare d ata from year to year. The earlier report showed only Direc­ tor salaries by enrollment and budget size ranges. In the 1987-1988 report such data are available for all six positions. The earlier report used ranges that broke at logical points (i.e. 5,000 to 9,999; 10,000 to 19,999). In the 1987-1988 report both enroll­ ment and budget size ranges show reporting insti­ tutions by quartile. Therefore, it will not always be possible to compare salaries in a range from year to year. Librarians will find it interesting to examine February 1989 / 121 TABLE 1. Salaries paid to Director, Library Services: Overview Med Q l Q3 N All Institutions $38,175 $29,660 $49,440 1,236 Medical Schools & Centers $54,700 $44,940 $59,500 26 2-Year Technical Institutes $30,792 $26,000 $35,311 18 Theological Seminaries $31,705 $26,575 $34,714 29 Private Independent Institutions $35,107 $27,930 $46,500 337 Private Religious Institutions $30,200 $24,819 $36,935 292 TABLE 2. Salaries paid to Director, Library Services: Universities Med Q l Q3 N All Universities $52,044 $41,936 $63,936 385 Public Universities by Enrollment 5,000 or less $40,980 $36,625 $46,545 60 5,001 to 10,000 $52,000 $47,000 $57,114 78 10,001 to 18,000 $60,900 $55,825 $66,925 61 18,001 or more $70,315 $64,872 $79,700 50 Private Universities by Enrollment 2,000 or less $30,200 $28,635 $46,200 31 2,001 to 4,000 $39,500 $34,071 $46,500 44 4,001 to 7,000 $48,148 $43,800 $58,359 31 7,001 or more $70,000 $58,200 $88,000 30 Public Universities by Budget Range $29 million or less $40,980 $36,625 $45,744 60 $29.1-$61 million $49,548 $44,949 $53,500 66 $61.1-$169 million $61,944 $57,636 $66,000 67 $169.1 million or more $71,300 $65,664 $79,700 56 Private Universities by Budget Range $21 million or less $30,200 $28,500 $35,069 35 $21.1-$34 million $39,675 $36,000 $45,795 34 $34.1-$83 million $53,200 $43,800 $58,359 36 $83.1 million or more $74,160 $63,100 $90,000 31 the report itself in order to compare their salaries w ith other administrators in the same type of insti­ tution. The 1987-1988 questionnaire was sent to ap­ proximately 3,200 higher education institutions on a list provided by the National Center for Educa­ tion Statistics (now the Center for Education Sta­ tistics). A total of 1,564 usable responses were received—48% of the institutions surveyed. Salary d ata shown on tables in the CUPA report and in the tables w hich follow indicate th e m edian, first quartile, and third quartile for each position. The introduction to the CUPA report contains a useful description of those statistical concepts which is quoted below: •T h e median is the middle value in an array of all salaries for the position; half of the salaries are lower than the median and half are higher. The median is considered a more reliable measure than the mean/average because it minimizes the effect of extremely high and low salaries. •T h e first quartile (Q1 on Tables) divides sala­ ries below the median into two 25 percent seg­ ments. •T h e third quartile (Q3 on the Tables) divides salaries above the median into two 25 percent seg­ ments. •Q 1 and Q3, therefore, m ark the interquartile range; half of all salaries—the middle 50 percent— fall w ithin this range. 122 / C&RL News TABLE 3. Salaries paid to Director, Library Services: 4-Year Colleges Med Q i Q3 N All 4-Year Colleges $32,370 $26,563 $41,446 484 Public 4-Year Colleges by Enrollment 2,000 or less $34,000 $30,847 $37,600 28 2,001 to 3,000 $38,000 $35,200 $49,400 26 3,001 to 4,000 $42,070 $37,862 $46,068 16 4,001 or more $50,820 $46,725 $57,421 25 Private 4-Year Colleges by Enrollment 600 or less $23,590 $20,700 $27,000 85 601 to 1,000 $28,154 $24,838 $32,038 103 1,001 to 1,600 $33,423 $29,000 $39,800 101 1,601 or more $41,000 $33,537 $45,527 100 Public 4-Year Colleges by Budget Range $9 million or less $32,220 $29,447 $36,151 21 $9.1-$15 million $37,850 $32,436 $39,000 25 $15.1-$24 million $46,068 $43,200 $50,085 26 $24.1 million or more $53,003 $46,250 $57,653 23 Private 4-Year Colleges by Budget Range $6 million or less $23,590 $20,600 $27,000 107 $6.1-$9 million $28,906 $26,000 $32,251 80 $9.1-$18 million $33,040 $29,400 $38,000 101 $15.1 million or more $42,500 $36,450 $48,690 101 TABLE 4. Salaries paid to Director, Library Services: 2-Year Colleges Med Q l Q3 N All 2-Year Colleges $35,000 $28,850 $41,436 253 Public 2-Year Colleges by Enrollment 1,300 or less $33,444 $27,886 $37,054 62 1,301-2,400 $35,000 $28,908 $40,031 66 2,401-4,700 $38,563 $33,750 $42,631 44 4,701 or more $47,185 $38,065 $51,728 46 Private 2-Year Colleges by Enrollment 300 or less $20,634 $18,600 $23,612 9 301 to 450 $21,772 $18,010 $25,750 8 451 to 800 $24,157 $21,000 $30,126 11 801 or more $27,000 $25,000 $30,864 7 Public 2-Year Colleges by Budget Range $5 million or less $33,000 $27,018 $35,774 53 $5.1-$9 million $35,000 $30,830 $39,700 66 $9.1-$18 million $38,058 $33,516 $42,507 53 $18.1 million or more $47,240 $41,436 $52,500 46 Private 2-Year Colleges by Budget Range $2 million or less $20,634 $16,860 $22,110 7 $2.1-$3 million $22,000 $20,700 $26,400 7 $3.1-$5 million $21,000 $18,600 $30,126 10 $5.1 million or more $27,930 $24,157 $30,864 11 TABLE 5. Salaries paid to Circulation Librarian: Overview Med Q l Q3 N All Institutions $24,205 $19,230 $30,000 505 Medical Schools & Centers $21,010 $18,599 $28,000 8 Theological Seminaries $17,100 $15,600 $18,350 13 Private Independent Institutions $23,363 $18,487 $29,000 124 Private Religious Institutions $19,570 $16,500 $24,100 112 TABLE 6. Salaries paid to Acquisitions Librarian: Overview Med Q l Q3 N All Institutions $27,400 $22,078 $33,400 522 Medical Schools & Centers $26,373 $24,926 $31,657 9 Theological Seminaries $21,504 $19,425 $22,330 5 Private Independent Institutions $25,840 $21,000 $31,120 135 Private Religious Institutions $21,200 $17,552 $25,733 96 TABLE 7. Salaries paid to Technical Services Librarian: Overview Med Q l Q3 N All Institutions $27,774 $22,062 $35,000 667 Medical Schools & Centers $27,510 $20,600 $34,493 16 Theological Seminaries $23,620 $21,000 $25,680 12 Private Independent Institutions $25,688 $21,037 $31,300 194 Private Religious Institutions $22,184 $18,778 $26,873 136 TABLE 8. Salaries paid to Public Services Librarian: Overview Med Q l Q3 N All Institutions $30,000 $23,808 $38,019 415 Medical Schools & Centers $30,116 $27,318 $37,404 11 Theological Seminaries $25,500 $24,000 $28,179 5 Private Independent Institutions $28,449 $22,300 $35,004 111 Private Religious Institutions $22,470 $18,000 $26,039 68 TABLE 9. Salaries paid to Reference Librarian: Overview Med Q l Q3 N All Institutions $25,883 $21,328 $32,017 708 Medical Schools & Centers $24,510 $21,896 $26,300 14 Theological Seminaries $19,163 $16,000 $22,335 8 Private Independent Institutions $24,266 $19,500 $29,910 192 Private Religious Institutions $21,496 $18,200 $24,146 155 This means, for example, th at if all library direc­ tor salaries were arrayed from lowest to highest, the salary in the middle position, the m edian, would be $38,175—the first figure shown in the top row on Table 1. Another way of looking at the same array is to note th at half of the salaries fall w ith in a range bounded by $29,660—th e first quartile (midway between the lowest salary and the median) and $49,440—the third quartile (mid­ way between the median and the highest salary). The quartiles also show th at 25 percent of aca­ demic library directors earn less than $29,660 and 25 percent earn more than $49,440. It is also im portant to know th at respondents were asked to observe the following specifications in reporting their data: •Salaries are those in effect during the fall of 1987. •Salaries are at an annualized, full-time rate; they reflect only actual cash earnings, excluding any services contributed w ithout charge. •E nrollm ent and budget figures are for the op­ erating year 1987-1988. •E nrollm ent is stated in terms of equivalent full-time students. •Budgets include amounts for current educa­ tion and general operations, including research funds. Budgets do not include amounts for student aid, auxiliary enterprises, service departm ents, construction, and similar activities. ■ ■ Chapters Council: R eflection s in a h a ll o f m irrors By Alan Ritch Assistant to the University Librarian University o f California, Santa Cruz The growth o f A C R L chapters over the past 36 years. Twice a year, representatives of every chapter of the Association of College and Research Libraries gather as a Council to discuss issues of m utual con­ cern. Only a few years ago these gatherings were sufficiently modest in scale th at they could be held in small meeting rooms around a single table. At its most recent m eeting in New Orleans, C hapters Council found itself in a large m irrored ballroom, forced by its own growing membership into a set­ ting more august but less intim ate than at conven­ tions of the not too distant past. Though the regional voices and the accents from all parts of the country were made less distinct by size and shape of the aptly named Versailles Room, the reflections that surrounded us, echoing multiple images of each delegation off into apparent distance seemed an appropriate metaphor for our function and our growing importance in the national organi­ zation. Just as the regional chapters provide to every ACRL member the opportunity for small-scale, grass-roots involvement, local continuing educa­ tion, and social and professional interaction, so the Chapters Council serves as a parliament for all those local constituencies, as a forum for sharing program ideas, and as a setting which fosters new social and professional friendships. 124 / C&RL News