Library & Information Science
Add ComparisonIn 2024, the locations with the highest concentration of Library & Information Science degree recipients are San Jose, CA, Denton, TX, and Hattiesburg, MS. In 2024, the locations with a relatively high number of Library & Information Science degree recipients are Emporia, KS, San Jose, CA, and River Forest, IL. 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 Dominican University 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, $8,040 for in-state public colleges, and $45,644 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 (5,415 completions).
The most common sector, by number of degrees awarded in Library & Information Science, is Public, 4-year or above (5,415 completions in 2024).
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 764 degrees awarded in 2024.
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, Dominican University has the highest percentage of degrees awarded in Library & Information Science, with 13.4%.
This map shows the counties in the United States colored by the highest number of degrees awarded in Library & Information Science by year.
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 $67,277 and the most common occupations are Librarians and media collections specialists, Elementary & middle school teachers, and Library assistants, clerical.
The industry that employs the most Library Science majors is Libraries & archives, though the highest paying industry, by average wage, is Management of companies & enterprises.
The average salary for Library Science majors is $67,277 and the most common occupations are Librarians and media collections specialists, Elementary & middle school teachers, and Library assistants, clerical.
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 for Library Science majors, by number of employees, are Librarians and media collections specialists, Elementary & middle school teachers, and Library assistants, clerical.
Compared to other majors, there are an unusually high number of Library Science majors working as Librarians, Library technicians, and Library assistants, clerical.
The highest paid occupations by median income for Library Science majors are Chief executives & legislators, Personal financial advisors, and Sales managers.
The number of Library Science graduates in the workforce has been declining at a rate of 3.91%, from 21,175 in 2023 to 20,346 in 2024.
The largest single share of Library Science graduates go on to work as Librarians and media collections specialists (34.5%). 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 Libraries & archives, Elementary & secondary schools, and Colleges, universities & professional schools, including junior colleges.
The highest paying industries of Library Science majors, by average wage, are Management of companies & enterprises, Periodical, book, & directory & mailing list, & other publishers, and Building material & supplies dealers.
The number of Library Science graduates in the workforce has been growing at a rate of 3.91%, from 21,175 in 2023 to 20,346 in 2024.
The industry which employs the most Library Science graduates by share is Libraries & archives, followed by Elementary & secondary schools. 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 48.4.
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 (4,379 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 40 and 63 years old, which represent 3.66% and 3.54% 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.
In 2024, 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 Uganda that hold Library Science degrees (18.7 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 (822 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 Writing. The revealed comparative advantage (RCA) shows that Library & Information Science majors need more than the average amount of Operations Analysis, Systems Analysis, and Systems Evaluation.
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 Operations Analysis is very distinctive for majors, but the Writing, Reading Comprehension, and Speaking are the three most important skills for people in the field.
