2008 Salary Survey & Workplace Study
2008 Salary Survey & Workplace Study

The 2008 SLA Salary Survey & Workplace study is available! Click here to purchase.

2008 Salary Survey Results

2008 Basic Annual Salaries:

Canada
United States
United Kingdom
All Other Europe

 

Salary
Percent Change
Respondent Country
10th Percentile
First Quartile 25%
Median 50%
Third Quartile 75%
90th Percentile
Number
Mean
Mean Percent Change
Canada*
47,150
55,000
65,000
80,338
97,792
312
69,971
5.4%
United States
42,000
51,450
66,000
85,000
108,000
2,865
71,812
5.3%
United Kingdom**
25,000
29,090
36,500
50,325
69,900
50
42,674
4.2%
All Other Europe***
40,700
49,140
61,500
81,000
100,000
26
64,986
7.0%

 

*All salaries in Canadian tables are reported in Canadian dollars. The exchange rate on April 1, 2008, was Can$ 1.02 = $1 U.S.

**All salaries in U.K. tables are reported in Pounds Sterling. The exchange rate on April 1, 2008, was £.50 = $1 U.S.

***All salaries in other European tables are reported in Euros. The exchange rate on April 1, 2008, was €.63 = $1 U.S.


The 2008 SLA Salary Survey results show that the average salary increases for SLA members have again outpaced inflation. Based on salaries as of April 1, the mean percent increase in salaries for 2008 over 2007 was 5.3% for U.S. based respondents. This is slightly higher (0.2%) than the mean percent increase from 2006 to 2007. For the same 12 month period, the Consumer Price Index rose less than 4%. Salaries for Canadian members were 5.4% higher on April 1, 2008, than a year earlier, while the CPI had increased just less than 4% in the same period.

The average salary for U.S. members who answered the survey was $71,812, compared with $69,426 in 2007 and $67,400 in 2006. The mean for Canadian members was Can$ 69,971 compared with Can$ 67,171 in 2007 and Can$ $65,522 in 2006.

The SLA Salary Survey also includes data from members of SLA Europe. These data are separated into two categories: U.K. and other European members. The average salary for U.K. respondents was £42,674, with a reported increase of 4.2% over the previous year. For other European members, the average salary was €64,986, an increase of 7.0% from 2007.

A workplace study based on an additional survey sent with the salary survey to members' HR departments is published with the salary survey results. The workplace study enhances the SLA annual salary survey results with additional information about the benefits, trends in hiring and expenditure, and changes in job descriptions and competencies of information professionals.

More information on the survey results and workplace study will be available in the Information Management column of the December 2008 issue of Information Outlook.

SLA Salary Calculator

SLA has developed the salary calculator as an online interactive tool to analyze salaries based on multiple characteristics, rather than two dimensional in the print version. The 2008 SLA Salary Calculator is available to purchasers of the 2008 salary survey only. Please click here to access the calculator.


Summary of Contents

Chapters

Canada
Chapter One:
All Canadian Respondents
Chapter Two:
Primary Responsibility - Administrative/Management
Chapter Three: Primary Responsibility - CI/Research
Chapter Four:
Primary Responsibility - Reference
Chapter Five:
Primary Responsibility - General Responsibilities
Chapter Six:
Primary Responsibility - Technical Services
United States
Chapter Six: All United States Respondents
Chapter Seven: Primary Responsibility - Administrative/Management
Chapter Eight: Primary Responsibility - CI/Research
Chapter Nine: Primary Responsibility - Reference
Chapter Ten: Primary Responsibility - General Responsibilities
Chapter Eleven: Primary Responsibility - Technical Services
SLA Europe
Chapter Twelve: All United Kingdom Respondents
Chapter Thirteen: All Other European Respondents

 

Tables within Each Chapter

Demographic Data
  Table 1 - Salary Distribution by Region/Census Division
  Table 2 - Salary Distribution by Metropolitan Area
  Table 3 - Salary Distribution by Subject Degree Field
  Table 4 - Salary Distribution by Library/Information Science Degree
  Table 5 - Salary Distribution by Degree Held
  Table 6 - Salary Distribution by Years of Library Experience
  Table 7 - Salary Distribution by Years of Total Work Experience
  Table 8 - Salary Distribution by Gender
  Table 9 - Salary Distribution by Ethnicity/Race
Institutional Data
  Table 10 - Salary Distribution by Number of Employees
  Table 11 - Salary Distribution by Non-profit Status
  Table 12 - Salary Distribution by Business Sector
  Table 13 - Salary Distribution by Institution/Industry
  Table 14 - Salary Distribution by Institution/Industry and Library/Information Center Budget
  Table 15 - Salary Distribution by Union v. Non-union
Job-Specific Data
  Table 16 - Salary Distribution by Number of Years with Present Employer
  Table 17 - Salary Distribution by Number of Employees Supervised or Managed
  Table 18 - Salary Distribution by Primary Job Responsibility
  Table 19 - Salary Distribution by Primary Job Title
  Table 20 - Salary Distribution by Library or Information Resource Center Setting
  Table 21 - Salary Distribution by Library/Information Center Annual Budget
  Table 22 - Salary Distribution by Full-time Equivalent Employees in Library/Information Center
  Table 23 - Number and Percentage of Employees by Type of Benefits Provided by Institution Group
  Table 24 - Health Insurance Plan Provided by Institution Group
  Table 25 - Individual Coverage Health Insurance Plan Benefits Provided by Institution Group
  Table 26 - Dependent Coverage Health Insurance Plan Benefits Provided by Institution Group
  Table 27 - Total Outlay for Health Insurance Benefits by Institution Group
  Table 28 - Salary Distribution by Employed/Self-Employed Status
  Table 29 - Salary Distribution by Contract Basis at Primary Job
  Table 30 - Salary Distribution by Number of Part-time Jobs Held
  Table 31 - Salary Distribution by Number of Part-time Hours Worked per Week
  Table 32 - Salary Distribution by Reasons for Working Part-time
  Table 33 - Average Hourly Rate for Part-time Employees by Census Division

 


Also available are Executive Summaries of SLA's annual salary surveys for earlier years included in the Salary Surveys Information Portal.

Please contact Carolyn Sosnowski at csosnowski@sla.org if you have any questions or comments.

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