Library & Information Science
Add ComparisonIn 2021, the locations with the highest concentration of Library & Information Science degree recipients are Denton, TX, San Jose, CA, and Milwaukee, WI. In 2021, the locations with a relatively high number of Library & Information Science degree recipients are Clarion, PA, Emporia, KS, and Valdosta, GA. The most common degree awarded to students studying Library & Information Science is a masters degree.
Information about the types of higher education institutions that grant degrees in Library & Information Science and the types of students that study this field. San Jose State University awards the most degrees in Library & Information Science in the US, but Clarion University of Pennsylvania and Emporia State University have the highest percentage of degrees awarded in Library & Information Science.
Tuition costs for Library & Information Science majors are, on average, $7,716 for in-state public colleges, and $41,872 for out of state private colleges.
The most common sector, by number of institutions, that offers Library & Information Science programs are Public, 4-year or above institutions (58 total). The most common sector, by number of degrees awarded, is Public, 4-year or above (4,943 completions).
The most common sector, by number of degrees awarded in Library & Information Science, is Public, 4-year or above (4,943 completions in 2021).
The following chart shows the share of universities that offer Library & Information Science programs, by the total number of completions, colored and grouped by their sector.
San Jose State University has the most Library & Information Science degree recipients, with 626 degrees awarded in 2021.
The following bar chart shows the state tuition for the top 5 institutions with the most degrees awarded in Library & Information Science.
Out of all institutions that offer Library & Information Science programs and have at least 5 graduates in those programs, Clarion University of Pennsylvania has the highest percentage of degrees awarded in Library & Information Science, with 11.1%.
This map shows the counties in the United States colored by the highest number of degrees awarded in Library & Information Science by year.
This map shows the counties in the United States colored by the highest growth in degrees awarded for Library & Information Science.
Information on the businesses and industries that employ Library Science graduates and on wages and locations for those in the field.
The average salary for Library Science majors is $61,669 and the most common occupations are Librarians and media collections specialists, Elementary & middle school teachers, and Education administrators.
The industry that employs the most Library Science majors is Elementary & secondary schools, though the highest paying industry, by average wage, is Scientific research & development services.
The average salary for Library Science majors is $61,669 and the most common occupations are Librarians and media collections specialists, Elementary & middle school teachers, and Education administrators.
This chart shows the average annual salaries of the most common occupations for Library Science majors.
This map shows the public use micro areas (PUMAs) in the United States colored by the average salary of Library Science majors.
Note that the census collects information tied to where people live, not where they work. It is possible that Library Science majors live and work in the same place, but it is also possible that they live and work in two different places.
The most common occupations Library Science majors, by number of employees, are Librarians and media collections specialists, Elementary & middle school teachers, and Education administrators.
Compared to other majors, there are an unusually high number of Library Science majors working as Librarians and media collections specialists, Library assistants, clerical, and Archivists, curators, & museum technicians.
The highest paid occupations by median income for Library Science majors are Computer & information systems managers, Software developers, and Office clerks, general.
The number of Library Science graduates in the workforce has been declining at a rate of 6.04%, from 23,226 in 2020 to 21,824 in 2021.
The largest single share of Library Science graduates go on to work as Librarians and media collections specialists (35.2%). This chart shows the various jobs filled by those with a major in Library Science by share of the total number of graduates.
The most common industries that employ Library Science majors, by number of employees, are Elementary & secondary schools, Libraries & archives, and Colleges, universities & professional schools, including junior colleges.
The highest paying industries of Library Science majors, by average wage, are Scientific research & development services, Computer Systems Design, and Pharmaceutical & medicine manufacturing.
The number of Library Science graduates in the workforce has been growing at a rate of 6.04%, from 23,226 in 2020 to 21,824 in 2021.
The industry which employs the most Library Science graduates by share is Elementary & secondary schools, followed by Libraries & archives. This visualization shows the industries that hire those who major in Library Science.
This map shows the public use micro areas (PUMAs) in the United States where there are a relatively high population of Library Science majors.
Note that the census collects information tied to where people live, not where they work. It is possible that Library Science majors live and work in the same place, but it is also possible that they live and work in two different places.
Demographic information for those who earn a degree in Library Science in the United States.
The average age of a person in the workforce with a degree in Library Science is 49.3.
The most common degree type these workers hold is a Masters Degree. Female employees are more likely to hold Library Science degrees, and White students are the most common race/ethnicty group awarded degrees in Library Science (4,198 students).
This chart shows distribution of ages for employees with a degree in Library Science. The most common ages of employees with this major are 63 and 60 years old, which represent 3.98% and 3.71% of the population, respectively.
The most common degree types awarded to students graduating in Library & Information Science are Masters Degree, Postbaccalaureate Certificate, and Bachelors Degree.
The most common degree types held by the working population in Library Science are Masters Degree, Bachelors Degree, and Professional degree.
This chart shows the granted degrees by sex at the 5 institutions that graduate the most students in Library & Information Science.
This chart shows the number of degrees awarded in Library & Information Science for each race & ethnicity. White students earned the largest share of the degrees with this major.
This chart illustrates the differences by sex for each race & ethnicity of Masters Degree recipients in Library & Information Science.
White Female students, who earn most of the degrees in this field, are the most common combination of race/ethnicity and sex.
There are a relatively high number of people that were born in Belarus that hold Library Science degrees (14 times more than expected), and the most common country of origin by total numbers for non-US students earning a degree in this field is China (892 degree recipients).
Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for those working in the Library & Information Science field from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Library & Information Science majors need many skills, but most especially Active Listening. The revealed comparative advantage (RCA) shows that Library & Information Science majors need more than the average amount of Installation, Equipment Maintenance, Repairing, Equipment Selection, Management of Material Resources, Troubleshooting, Technology Design, Management of Financial Resources, Learning Strategies, Instructing, Service Orientation, Management of Personnel Resources, Systems Analysis, Active Listening, Systems Evaluation, Operation Monitoring, Operations Analysis, Writing, Active Learning, Speaking, Monitoring, Operation and Control, Reading Comprehension, Social Perceptiveness, Critical Thinking, Time Management, Coordination, Judgment and Decision Making, Complex Problem Solving, Persuasion, Negotiation, Programming, Quality Control Analysis, Mathematics, and Science.
These two visualizations, one a radial chart and one a bar chart, show the same information, a rating of how necessary the following skills are for Library & Information Science majors. Toggle between "value" and "RCA" to see the absolute rating of that skill (value) and the revealed comparative advantage (RCA), or how much greater or lesser that skill's rating is than the average. The longer the bar or the closer the line comes to the circumference of the circle, the more important that skill is. The importance of Installation is very distinctive for majors, but the Active Listening, Reading Comprehension, Speaking, Critical Thinking, Writing, Active Learning, Monitoring, Learning Strategies, Instructing, Judgment and Decision Making, Social Perceptiveness, Complex Problem Solving, Systems Analysis, Time Management, Service Orientation, Coordination, Systems Evaluation, Management of Personnel Resources, Persuasion, Management of Material Resources, Negotiation, Operation Monitoring, Management of Financial Resources, Operations Analysis, Mathematics, Troubleshooting, Quality Control Analysis, Equipment Maintenance, Technology Design, Equipment Selection, Installation, Operation and Control, Repairing, Programming, and Science are the three most important skills for people in the field.
