Librarian salaries in the USA: the impact of revenue redistribution on library recruitment

The purpose of this article is to determine the scope of library revenue redistribution to salary expenditures from other operating expenditures.

Existing US regional and national library data sources (1982‐2003) were reviewed to assess the impact of salary expenditures on other operating expenditures and the impact of retirement on planning.

The study found that the salaries of the case study library are keeping pace with national averages, but have significantly impacted other operating expenditures due to MLS retention. Retirement rates in the case study are slightly ahead of national estimates and provide some insight into practical needs for LIS graduates.

The article demonstrates the use of existing data sources as planning tools to assess library salaries' overall operating expenditures, and to project professional staff levels.