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Library & Information Science Major

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Library & Information Science

119 Bachelor's Degrees Annually
5,378 Master's Degrees Annually
#282 in Popularity
$61,530 Median Salary

Types of Degrees Library & Information Science Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many library and information science graduations there were in 2020-2021 for each degree level.

Education Level Number of Grads
Master’s Degree 5,378
Graduate Certificate 419
Bachelor’s Degree 119
Associate Degree 19
Doctor’s Degree 12
Basic Certificate 2
Undergraduate Certificate 1

What Library & Information Science Majors Need to Know

People with careers related to library science were asked what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. They weighted these areas on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the highest.

Knowledge Areas for Library Science Majors

Library Science majors often go into careers in which the following knowledge areas are important:

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  • English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
  • Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
  • Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
  • Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
  • Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

Skills for Library Science Majors

library science majors are found most commonly in careers in which the following skills are important:

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  • Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
  • Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
  • Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
  • Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
  • Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.

Abilities for Library Science Majors

Library Science majors often go into careers where the following abilities are vital:

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  • Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
  • Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
  • Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
  • Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
  • Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.

What Can You Do With a Library & Information Science Major?

People with a library science degree often go into the following careers:

Job Title Job Growth Rate Median Salary
Archivists 14.7% $52,240
Compliance Managers 8.0% $107,480
Librarians 9.0% $59,050
Library Science Professors 8.3% $71,560
Loss Prevention Managers 8.0% $107,480
Regulatory Affairs Managers 8.0% $107,480
Security Managers 8.0% $107,480

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in Library & Information Science?

119 Bachelor's Degrees Annually
91% Percent Women
19% Percent Racial-Ethnic Minorities*
This is a less frequently chosen undergraduate major. Only 119 students graduated with a bachelor’s degree in library and information science in 2021, making it rank #282 in popularity. This major is dominated by women with about 91% of recent graduates being female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of library science majors is as follows:

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Race/Ethnicity Number of Grads
Asian 0
Black or African American 7
Hispanic or Latino 11
White 93
International Students 0
Other Races/Ethnicities 8

How Much Do Library & Information Science Majors Make?

Bachelor’s Degree Starting Salary

According to 2019-2020 data from the U.S. Department of Education, students who graduated with a bachelor’s degree in library science have a median salary of $26,165 during the early years of their career. During this timeframe, most salaries fell between $20,318 (25th percentile) and $31,744 (75th percentile).

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We don’t know for sure if all of these people took jobs related to library science so take that into consideration.

Salaries According to BLS

Library Science majors often go into careers where salaries can range from $56,400 to $75,450 (25th to 75th percentile). This range includes all degree levels, so the salary for a person with just a bachelor’s degree may be a little less and the one for a person with an advanced degree may be a little more.

To put that into context, according to BLS data from the first quarter of 2020, the typical high school graduate makes between $30,000 and $57,900 a year (25th through 75th percentile). The average person with a bachelor’s degree (any field) makes between $45,600 and $99,000. Advanced degree holders make the most with salaries between $55,600 and $125,400.

Median Salary for a Library & Information Science Major  ( 56400 to 75450 )
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Median Salary for a High School Graduate  ( 30000 to 57900 )
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Median Salary for a Bachelor's Degree Holder  ( 45600 to 99000 )
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Median Salary for an Advanced Degree Holder  ( 55600 to 125400 )
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250K

Some careers associated with library science require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. Whatever the case may be, pursuing more education usually means that more career options will be available to you.

How much schooling do you really need to compete in today’s job market? People currently working in careers related to library science have obtained the following education levels.

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Education Level Percentage of Workers
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED) 2.8%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production) 2.5%
Some College Courses 2.6%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree) 5.0%
Bachelor’s Degree 36.8%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master. 2.2%
Master’s Degree 37.0%
Post-Master’s Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master’s degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level. 3.0%
First Professional Degree - awarded for completion of a program that: requires at least 2 years of college work before entrance into the program, includes a total of at least 6 academic years of work to complete, and provides all remaining academic requirements to begin practice in a profession. 0.6%
Doctoral Degree 7.1%
Post-Doctoral Training 0.9%

Online Library & Information Science Programs

In the 2020-2021 academic year, 87 schools offered some type of library and information science program. The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level Colleges Offering Programs Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year) 0 0
Certificate (1-2 years) 3 0
Certificate (2-4 Years) 1 0
Associate’s Degree 6 3
Bachelor’s Degree 29 5
Post-Baccalaureate 0 0
Master’s Degree 69 31
Post-Master’s 32 0
Doctor’s Degree (Research) 11 0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice) 0 0
Doctor’s Degree (Other) 0 0

Is a Degree in Library & Information Science Worth It?

The median salary for a library science grad is $61,530 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 54% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $432,600 after 20 years!

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You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to library science.

Major Number of Grads
Library & Archives Assisting 467
Other Library & Archives Assisting 121

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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