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April 13, 2021 by Gary Price

“143,518 US Public Library Workers are Keeping Their Communities Informed, Connected and Engaged – But Their Jobs May Be At Risk”

April 13, 2021 by Gary Price

From a Post on The Conversation by:

  • Rachel D. Williams
    Assistant Professor of Library and Information Science, Simmons University
  • Christine D’Arpa
    Assistant Professor of Library and Information Sciences, Wayne State University
  • Noah Lenstra
    Assistant Professor of Library and Information Science, University of North Carolina – Greensboro

In 2018, there were 143,518 library workers in the United States, according to data collected by the Institute of Museum and Library Services. While newer data isn’t available, the number is probably lower now, and recent history suggests more library jobs may be on the chopping block in the near future.

As library and information science researchers, we are concerned about library worker job insecurity.

During the Great Recession, the economic downturn between late 2007 and mid-2009, thousands of librarians and other library staff lost their jobs. As local governments cut spending on libraries, the size of that workforce shrank to 137,369 in 2012 from 145,499 in 2008.

Learn More, Read the Complete Post (475 words)

Filed under: Data Files, Jobs, Libraries, News, Public Libraries

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About Gary Price

Gary Price (gprice@gmail.com) is a librarian, writer, consultant, and frequent conference speaker based in the Washington D.C. metro area. He earned his MLIS degree from Wayne State University in Detroit. Price has won several awards including the SLA Innovations in Technology Award and Alumnus of the Year from the Wayne St. University Library and Information Science Program. From 2006-2009 he was Director of Online Information Services at Ask.com. Gary is also the co-founder of infoDJ an innovation research consultancy supporting corporate product and business model teams with just-in-time fact and insight finding.

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