Well-trained public librarians play a crucial role in bringing the humanities to the American people. Librarians are involved in organizing cultural events, reaching out to students in local schools, and educating citizens of all ages in accessing the growing variety of information resources. An important measure of the vitality of the public dimension of the humanities is thus the quantity-and quality-of the librarians who serve the millions of people who visit the nation's public libraries every year and whose numbers have been growing (see Indicator V-8, Use of Public Libraries; for information on the total number of librarians nationwide and the characteristics of the humanities workforce more generally, see Indicator III-1, Size and Occupational Distribution of the Humanities Workforce).

The data indicate that between 1995 and 2005 the ranks of public librarians increased by 6,660 full-time positions, or 17%, although the bulk of the growth occurred over the first half of the time period (Figure V-11a). The number of other staff positions at public libraries also grew substantially over the period, however, with the result that the proportion of all staff who were librarians changed little. Each year, librarians represented approximately 33% of all library personnel.

Figure V-11a, Full Size Supporting Data

The trend for master librarians was similar. (Master librarians have received a master’s degree from an American Library Association–accredited program in library and information studies.)1 As Figure V-11b illustrates, the number of full-time public library positions filled by master librarians rose every year between 1995 and 2005, but much more modestly toward the end of the time period. The percentage of all public librarians who were master librarians was relatively constant over the ten years, hovering between 68 and 70%.

Figure V-11b, Full Size Supporting Data

Another perspective on the prevalence of academically trained librarians in the public library system is provided by a relatively new data item, collected beginning in 2001 by the NCES’s Public Libraries Survey, which asked states what percentage of their public libraries employed at least one master librarian. From 2001 to 2005, the percentage nationwide was approximately 45%.