A Study Of Library Assistant Positions In Connecticut Libraries

Prepared by Leon Shatkin, State Library Data Coordinator Connecticut State Library, Division of Library Development November 1998

Background
In the fall of 1998, the Library Technical Assistant Section of the Connecticut Library Association, in cooperation with the State Library, surveyed Connecticut's libraries in order to examine the number and status of Library Assistant staff positions in the state. A two page survey form was designed and mailed in early September to 1,150 libraries. The due date for response was October 8, 1998.

Returns
A total of 249 survey forms were returned, a response rate of about 22%. Table I shows the number of responses by type of library.

Table I Response Rate
Type	Number sent	Number returned	Per Cent returned	Per Cent of all returns
Academic	49	12	24%	5%
Public	186	92	49%	37%
School	784	128	16%	51%
Special	131	17	13%	7%
Total	1,150	249	22%	100%

An additional 17 survey forms were returned but not included in the tabulations because of missing data or data that was not comparable.

Library Assistant Positions
Using the definition in the survey form¹, 217 libraries reported a total of 822 Library Assistant positions. The balance, 32 libraries, reported that they have no Library Assistant positions. Table II shows the number of positions reported by type of library.

¹ A Library Assistant position is any one that requires broad training, knowledge and skills in library services and operations. It may or may not require a two-year LTA Associate's degree. A Library Assistant may work either independently or under the supervision of a professional librarian.

Table II Library Assistant Positions by Library Type
Type	Libraries	LA positions
Academic	11	77
Corporate	2	2
Public	91	556
School	105	171
Special	8	16
Total	217	822

Overall, the libraries that responded to the survey have an average of 3.3 Library Assistant positions. As might be expected, larger libraries have, on average, more Library Assistant positions than smaller libraries. Table III shows the total number of Library Assistant positions reported by libraries in each of 8 collection size groups and the average number of Library Assistant positions per library.

Table III Library Assistant Positions by Library Size
Items held	Libraries	LA positions	Average LA positions per library
More than 150,000	13	158	12.2
100,000-150,000	18	120	6.7
50,000-100,000	28	184	6.6
25,000-50,000	39	158	4.1
10,000-25,000	105	163	1.6
5,000-10,000	36	31	0.9
1,000-5,000	6	6	1.0
Less than 1,000	4	2	.50
Total	249	822	3.3

Wages²
On average, Library Assistant positions tend to be less than full time. Only 334 positions (41%) work 35 hours or more per week. In addition, many positions, especially those in school libraries and media centers, work less than 12 months per year. Most Library Assistants are paid an hourly rate rather than a salary. Comparing their average annual earnings on an hourly basis suggests that salaried Library Assistants earn more than hourly Library Assistants. (Assuming both work 34 hours per week 12 months per year, the salaried Library Assistant would receive $24,831 compared to the hourly Library Assistant's $19,466.)

²For related wage data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, see Attachment A.

Table IV Annual Wage Projections by Wage Basis
Wage basis	Number of positions	% of all	Total hours per week	Average hours per week	Average Wage (34 hrs x 52 weeks)
Hourly	587	71%	13,331	77.2	$19,466 annually ($11.01/hr)
Salaried	235	29%	7,959	33.9	$24,831 annually ($14.04/hr)
Total	822	100%	21,290	25.9	$22,149 annually ($12.17/hr)

 

Table V Wage Spread by Wage Basis
Wage basis	High	Median	Low
Hourly	$23.16	$10.78	$5.15
Salaried	$46,000	$27,699	$4,781

 

Table VI Average Wage by Wage Basis and Library Type
Wage Basis	Academic	Corporate	Public	School	Special
Hourly	$11.79	$14.50	$10.19	$10.79	$12.78
Salaried	$31,868	$21,000	$25,929	$15,7984	$23,880

 

Table VII Wage Spread by Wage Basis and Library Type
Type	High	Median	Low
Academic Hourly	$18.07	$13.28	$7.50
Academic Salaried	$46,000	$32,220	$11,211
Corporate Hourly3	$14.50	$14.50	$14.50
Corporate Salaried3	$21,000	$21,000	$21,000
Public Hourly	$23.16	$10.30	$5.15
Public Salaried	$45,374	$27,750	$7,803
School Hourly	$16.00	$11.22	$6.15
School Salaried	$45,000	$15,8004	$4,7814
Special Hourly	$16.54	$12.74	$10.35
Special Salaried	$28,000	$22,259	$21,000
3 Only 2 Library Assistant positions were reported by corporate library responders. 4 Most school positions are for 10 months or less.

 

Table VIII Wage Spread by Wage Basis and Geographical Region5
	Wage Basis Salaried	Wage Basis Hourly
Region I (Northwest)
LA positions	16	91
High	$46,000	$13.90
Median	$17,690	$11.00
Low	$9,000	$6.00
Average	$21,149	$10.47
Region II (North Central)
LA positions	54	157
High	$41,600	$18.62
Median	$27,071	$12.10
Low	$8,816	$6.70
Average	$26,111	$12.34
Region III (Northeast)
LA positions	14	99
High	$30,161	$15.00
Median	$18,015	$9.15
Low	$4,781	$5.15
Average	$16,980	$9.46
Region IV (Southwest)
LA positions	58	54
High	$45,374	$21.63
Median	$21,750	$11.46
Low	$10,182	$7.50
Average	$22,500	$12.14
Region V (South Central)
LA positions	85	128
High	$45,000	$23.16
Median	$28,301	$9.90
Low	$7,803	$5.75
Average	$27,369	$10.26
Region VI (Southeast)
LA positions	8	58
High	$38,964	$16.54
Median	$28,000	$11.78
Low	$15,000	$5.90
Average	$27,306	$11.45
5For a list of Connecticut towns by geographical region, see Attachment C.

Benefits, Supervision, Union Membership
Most Library Assistant positions include some employee benefits; they are generally not supervisory positions and not unionized. Among salaried Library Assistants, 68% are union members, while only 23% of hourly Library Assistants are unionized. That does appear to impact their relative wage levels in Table IX although the data do not include the number of hours worked annually by salaried Library Assistants. Only 26% of Library Assistants supervise other library staff; but for hourly supervisors, both their highest and median hourly rates are 24.4% higher than non-supervisors. The highest paid salaried supervisor, at $46,000, earns only 2.2% more than the highest paid non-supervisor's $45,000, but the median rate of supervisors who are on salary is 14.2% higher than salaried non-supervisors, $28,000 compared to $24,518.

Table IX Benefits, Supervisors, Unionized by Library Type
	Benefits?		Supervise?		Union?
Type	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	No
Academic	69 (90%)	8 (10%)	22 (29%)	55 (71%)	47 (61%)	30 (39%)
Corporate	1 (50%)	1 (50%)	1(50%)	1 (50%)	0 (0%)	2 (100%)
Public	280 (50%)	275 (50%)	157 (28%)	397 (72%)	132 (24%)	422 (76%)
School	132 (78%)	38 (22%)	33 (20%)	129 (80%)	112 (70%)	49 (30%)
Special	13 (81%)	3 (19%)	1 (6%)	15 (94%)	0 (0%)	16 (100%)
Total	495 (60%)	325 (40%)	214 (26%)	597 (74%)	291 (36%)	519 (64%)

 

Table X Unionized by Wage Basis
Wage  basis	Unionized?
	Yes	No
Hourly	135 (23%)	444 (77%)
Salaried	156 (68%)	75 (32%)
Total	291 (36%)	519 (64%)

 

Table XI Unionized Wage Spread by Wage Basis
Wage basis	Unionized			Non-Unionized
	High	Median	Low	High	Median	Low
Hourly	$23.16	$12.00	$7.19	$18.62	$10.00	$5.15
Salaried	$46,000	$26,129	$4,781	$45,000	$24,000	$7,803

 

Table XII Supervisors by Wage Basis
Wage basis	Supervise?
	Yes	No
Hourly	142 (25%)	436 (75%)
Salaried	72 (31%)	161 (69%)
http://www.cslib.org/lbph.htmTotal	214 (26%)	597 (74%)

 

Table XIII Supervisors Wage Spread by Wage Basis
Wage basis	Supervisors			Non-Supervisors
	High	Median	Low	High	Median	Low
Hourly	$23.17	$12.52	$6.00	$18.62	$10.06	$5.15
Salaried	$46,000	$28,000	$10,967	$45,000	$24,518	$4,781

Conclusion
There is a wide range of library assistant positions in Connecticut Libraries. Holders of these positions are classified under at least 200 job titles. Only 34% of the positions reported for this study (276 of 822) were, in fact, called "Library Assistant" in the survey response. Larger libraries have more library assistant positions, and most positions are in public and school libraries. More than two-thirds of library assistant positions are paid hourly rather than salaried, and salaried library assistant positions appear to be paid on average more than hourly positions. Positions in academic libraries pay more on the high end than other types of libraries and school libraries pay less on the low end. The majority of library assistants receive some employee benefits with the highest percentage of benefits in academic libraries. Labor union membership is a definite factor in wage scales, and library assistants that supervise other staff are generally paid more than non-supervisors.

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