Number and Training of Public Librarians
Throughout the 1995鈥2022 period, the number of public library staff holding the title of 鈥渓ibrarian鈥 varied within a narrow band of 15鈥16 per 100,000 people (Indicator V-19a).1 The share of all library personnel with this title was also quite constant over the 28 years, increasing only slightly from 33% to 36%.
The number of master librarians employed by public libraries rose gradually but steadily from 1995 to 2009 (Indicator V-19b).2 After four years of decline, the number began to climb again, so that by 2016 it had surpassed the 2009 level, reaching its peak in 2021 for the 1995鈥2022 time period. The 33,923 (full-time equivalent) master librarians working in the nation鈥檚 public libraries in 2022 represents an increase of 27% from 1995. Master librarians accounted for 66鈥70% of the librarians employed by public libraries from 1995 to 2022.
The year 2010 was the first in which the proportion of public libraries with a master librarian on staff surpassed 50% (not pictured). In 2022, the most recent year for which information was available at the time of publication, the share was 53%.3
* Based on the total unduplicated population of libraries鈥 legal service areas. Values are for the 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. Calculations were performed on all libraries treated as public libraries by these jurisdictions, not only those meeting all Federal-State Cooperative System criteria for public libraries (see 鈥淎bout the Data鈥 for details).
Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Public Libraries Survey (1995-2005); and Institute of Museum and Library Services, Public Libraries Survey (2006-2022). Data analyzed and presented by the 亚色影库app鈥 Indicators ().
Under the Federal-State Cooperative System, a public library is an entity established under state enabling laws or regulations to serve a community, district, or region, is supported in whole or in part with public funds, and provides at least the following:
An organized collection of printed or other library materials or a combination thereof;
Paid staff;
An established schedule in which services of the staff are available to the public; and
The facilities necessary to support such a collection, staff, and schedule.
A library, in this instance, refers to the administrative entity, which could be a single-outlet library or a multibranch library system. In fiscal year 2022, the most recent year for which information was available at the time of publication, 9,029 libraries operating in the 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia met these criteria. These entities provided services via 16,194 central and branch libraries and 659 bookmobiles (M. Pelczar, J. Li, S. Alhassani, and S. Mabile, Public Libraries Survey: Fiscal Year 2022, IMLS-2022-PLS-01 [Institute of Museum and Library Services, 2024], ).
* A 鈥渕aster鈥 librarian is one holding a master鈥檚 degree from a graduate library education program accredited by the American Library Association. Values are for the 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. Calculations were performed on all libraries treated as public libraries by these jurisdictions, not only those meeting all Federal-State Cooperative System criteria for public libraries (see 鈥淎bout the Data鈥 for more details).
Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Public Libraries Survey (1995-2022); and Institute of Museum and Library Services, Public Libraries Survey (2006-2022). Data analyzed and presented by the 亚色影库app鈥 Indicators ().
Under the Federal-State Cooperative System, a public library is an entity established under state enabling laws or regulations to serve a community, district, or region, is supported in whole or in part with public funds, and provides at least the following:
An organized collection of printed or other library materials or a combination thereof;
Paid staff;
An established schedule in which services of the staff are available to the public; and
The facilities necessary to support such a collection, staff, and schedule.
A library, in this instance, refers to the administrative entity, which could be a single-outlet library or a multibranch library system. In fiscal year 2022, the most recent year for which information was available at the time of publication, 9,029 libraries operating in the 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia met these criteria. These entities provided services via 16,194 central and branch libraries, and 659 bookmobiles (M. Pelczar, J. Li, S. Alhassani, and S. Mabile, Public Libraries Survey: Fiscal Year 2022, IMLS-2022-PLS-01 [Institute of Museum and Library Services, 2024], ).
