Informal Consumer Health Librarian Salary Survey
November–December 2010
By Mary L. Gillaspy, MLS, MS, Jacqueline Cellini, MLIS, and Jennifer Friedman, MLS
Mary and Jacqueline can be reached as follows:
Health Learning Centers at Northwestern Memorial Hospital
312.926.5465
Introduction
In early 2001 Jennifer Friedman conducted an informal salary survey via the CAPHIS listserv. Jennifer gave her permission for Jacqueline and me to use her questions and update the information. A link to Survey Monkey was distributed to the CAPHIS listserv and MEDLIB-L. A total of sixty respondents completed the survey, though not all of them answered all the questions.
This is in no way a scientific survey. We are not professional statisticians or surveyors, and this sample is neither comprehensive nor random. The sample is rather self-selected and includes at least one reply from the National Library of Medicine. Some respondents are medical librarians in academic centers who offer a consumer health area or supervise provision of consumer health information but do not provide direct services. There was no way to separate out the responses, however. We have taken great care to maintain anonymity.
Of the respondents who provided salary specifics, the average annual salary for full-time FTEs is $59,833, a considerable increase from the $41,721 reported in 2001. The average hourly wage for full-time FTEs who responded is $28.65, or $59,592 yearly, a large increase over the $18.30 reported in 2001.
Question 1: What is your job title?
60 respondents answered the question.
The specific titles included in the survey included the following:
- [16] Reference librarian (26.7 percent)
- [10] Manager (16.7 percent)
- [8] Coordinator (13.3 percent)
- [1] Educator (1.7 percent)
- [1] Technical services librarian (1.7 percent)
- [24] Other (40 percent)
The “other” category broke down as follows:
- [9] Librarian (4), medical librarian (2), patient education librarian (1), family resource librarian (1), or health librarian (1)
- [4] Area specializations (1 outreach librarian, 1 patient education librarian, 1 adult services and programming librarian, and 1 biomedical information specialist)
- [4] Manager level (1 librarian and manager, 1 department head, 1 library supervisor, and 1 information manager)
- [3] Director level (1 library director, 1 chief, library services, and 1 director/health science librarian)
- [2] Consumer health librarian (1) and consumer health representative (1)
- [2] Support staff (1) and library associate (1)
Question 2: What is the highest degree you have earned to date?
60 respondents answered the question. Some respondents marked more than one choice.
The specific degrees included in the survey included the following:
- [46] Master’s degree in library science (76.7 percent)
- [7] Master’s degree in another field (11.7 percent)
- [4] Registered nurse (6.7 percent)
- [1] Social worker (1.7 percent)
- [1] Doctorate (1.7 percent)
- [8] Other (13.3 percent)
The “other” category broke down as follows:
- [7] Bachelor’s degree in library science
- [5] Bachelor of arts, bachelor of science, or bachelor of education
- [1] Community health worker
Two of the “other” respondents indicated that they are working toward a master’s degree in library science.
Question 3: What is your employee status?
60 respondents answered the question.
Forty-five respondents, or 75 percent, indicated that they are salaried (exempt) employees. The remaining fifteen respondents, or 25 percent, indicated that they are hourly (nonexempt) employees.
Question 4: What is your current salary?
60 respondents answered the question, with 35 indicating an annual amount and 25, an hourly amount. Only 29 respondents gave a dollar figure for current compensation—17 with annual salary, and 12 with hourly wage.
Respondents were given the option of providing hourly wage or annual salary. Thirty-five, or 58.3 percent, indicated annual compensation. Of these, two indicated that they are part-time employees, .5 FTE and .7 FTE. Reported annual FTE compensation ranged from a high of $100,000 to a low of $44,500. The annual range breaks down as follows:
- [1] $100,000
- [3] $70,000–$99,000
- [5] $50,000–$69,000
- [8] $35,000–$49,000 (Includes two part-time respondents.)
Hourly rates were reported as received by twenty-five, or 41.7 percent, of respondents. However, only twelve indicated an hourly amount. These amounts ranged from a high of $45.00 per hour to a low of $13.25 per hour. The hourly range breaks down as follows:
- [1] $45.00
- [5] $30.00–$44.00
- [4] $20.00–$29.00
- [2] $13.00–$19.00
Question 5: How many hours per week are you scheduled to work?
60 respondents answered the question.
The majority of respondents are full-time employees, working forty or more hours per week. The breakdown of hours follows:
- [35] 40 or more hours per week (58.3 percent)
- [14] 30–39 hours per week (23.3 percent)
- [8] 20–29 hours per week (13.3 percent)
- [2] 16–19 hours per week (3.3 percent)
- [1] Fewer than 16 hours per week (1.7 percent)
Question 6: How many years have you served in your current position?
60 respondents answered the question.
Number of years in current position ranged from 6 months to 35 years, with the greatest number, 40, serving from 1 to 12 years. The range follows:
- [19] 6 months to 4 years
- [20] 5 to 9 years
- [12] 10 to 12 years
- [0] 13 to 17 years
- [2] 18 to 19 years
- [3] 20 to 24 years
- [2] 25 years
- [2] 30 to 35 years
Question 7: How many years have you worked since earning your master's degree?
50 respondents answered the question.
Fifty-three respondents indicated in a previous question that they currently held a master’s degree, but only fifty of them responded to this question. The number of years worked since earning a master’s degree ranges from one to forty years, with seventeen working from one to nine years and seventeen working from ten to nineteen years. The breakdown of ranges follows:
- [5] 1 to 4 years
- [12] 5 to 9 years
- [9] 10 to 14 years
- [8] 15 to 19 years
- [8] 20 to 29 years
- [8] 30 to 40+ years
Question 8: Please identify the type of organization that supports or hosts your consumer health service.
60 respondents answered the question.
Nearly one third (19, or 31.7 percent) of respondents indicated that their consumer health information service is hosted by a medical system. Most, if not all, comprehensive cancer centers across the United States have patient/family/consumer libraries; however, librarians serving in these facilities did not respond to this survey. Respondents marking “other” did not qualify the type of organization in which they serve. A complete breakdown of the responses follows:
- [19] Medical system (31.7 percent)
- [12] Academic medical center (20 percent)
- [11] Community hospital (18.3 percent)
- [6] Other (10 percent)
- [5] Public library (8.3 percent)
- [4] Nonprofit organization (6.7 percent)
- [1] Cancer center, not comprehensive (1.7 percent)
- [1] Rehabilitation hospital or facility (1.7 percent)
- [1] State government agency (1.7 percent)
- [0] Clinic
- [0] Comprehensive cancer center
Question 9: Please identify the state, province, or territory where your consumer health information service is located.
60 respondents answered the question.
Respondents came from across the United States; four came from outside of the U.S., three from Canada and one from New Zealand. A breakdown by state or country follows:
- [6] California
- [5] Ohio
- [4] Florida
- [4] New York
- [4] Texas
- [3] Canada (Ontario and Quebec)
- [3] Colorado
- [3] Wisconsin
- [2] Indiana
- [2] Massachusetts
- [2] Michigan
- [2] North Carolina
- [2] Oregon
- [2] Utah
- [1] each from Arkansas, Arizona, Connecticut, Illinois, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Zealand, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee.
Question 10: Please provide the name of your consumer health information service.
57 respondents answered this question.
To maintain the privacy of respondents, specific names are not included here. However, a few words are common to most of the names. A breakdown of these common terms, taken from the names of the listed services, follows:
- [26] Center
- [23] Health
- [23] Library
- [21] Resource
- [14] Family
- [11] Patient
- [8] Information
- [6] Community
- [6] Education
- [4] Consumer
- [3] Service
- [1] Learning