Be a Librarian as a Second Career? Baby Boomers who Dominate Librarian Jobs are Reaching Retirement Age

Almost 58 percent of professional librarians in the United States will reach retirement age between 2005 and 2019. Wall St. Journal is reporting that public libraries fear a staffing shortage as retiring baby boomers may be hard to replace.

This could create a second career opportunity for individuals who would relish working in quiet, knowledge-filled environments. However before heading off in that direction note that public librarian salaries are quite low--starting around $39,000/year (though librarians at law firms, digital libraries and other private companies are about 20% higher).

Furthermore the education requirements to be a librarian are expensive. The WSJ quotes almost $20,000 for a two-year library and information-science masters program at the University of Illinois. Finally, the existence of the widely reported "librarian shortage" isn't necessarily apparent to those looking for librarian jobs.

A good place to start if you want to investigate librarian careers is the American Library Association website. A better place to start however is a blog created by the "Lethal Librarian" and her Q&A on becoming a librarian. Here is an excerpt:

Q: Will I be able to find a job after I graduate from library school?

A: Maybe you’ve heard of “the impending librarian shortage”? I went to library school with the belief that librarianship would offer me job security. Even the Bureau of Labor Statistics suggests that there is/will be a shortage. I can tell you, however, that it took me 6 months to find a temporary position (3 months during school, 3 months after) in 2004 - and this is, unfortunately, a common enough occurrence that it’s been commented upon several times in the blogosphere. I recommend reading Meredith Farkas’ “So is there a librarian shortage or isn’t there?”; Part 1 comments on the shortage and Part 2 includes links to other bloggers who have disputed the likelihood of a shortage. Will you be able to find a job after you graduate from library school? Probably, but it may take you anywhere up to a year (or longer), and it may only be a temporary or part-time position with no benefits. See also this recent story in Library Journal.

So is being a librarian a good second career for you? Probably not but if you are interested then by all means do your homework. If after investigation you come to the conclusion that it is a perfect fit to your interests, skills and lifestyle aspirations, then by all means go for it. Just by being passionate and informed you will be ahead of the vast majority of others heading into that field.