By Josh Hadro

• Average administrative salaries range from $60,809 to $133,339
• Average Mid-Level salaries range from $38,379 to $58,675
• Survey uses revised job descriptions

The Association of College & Research Libraries (ACRL) and the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources (CUPA-HR) have released the results of the 2009 Administrative Compensation and Mid-Level Salary, the first to be conducted according to entirely revised job descriptions developed jointly by the two organizations.

The Administrative Compensation Survey [PDF] found average salaries to range between $61,629 for head catalogers to $133,339 for library deans. Salaries for acquisitions librarians averaged $60,809, with heads of technical services and heads of public services earning an average salary of $64,828 and $66,484 respectively.

The Mid-Level Salary Survey [PDF] found that reference and instruction librarians earned an average salary of $43,302 or $53,602, depending on whether their position fit the descriptions of level I or level II (head) according to the revised job definitions (see below). Catalogers likewise earned an average of $38,379 (level I) or $52,358 (level II). Serials librarians earned an average of $52,189, and systems librarians earned an average of $58,675.

Job descriptions revised
The survey is the first to be conducted according to the new job description definitions developed by the ACRL CUPA-HR Position Descriptions of Academic Librarians Task Force formed in 2006. As a result, it's difficult to compare current salaries with those reported in previous surveys. The revisions were deemed necessary as a result of the task force's finding that previous descriptions “bore only limited resemblance to current library positions and responsibilities.”

According to the joint task force, "[t]his new compilation of Academic Library professional positions is the first significant update of CUPA-HR’s library survey listings in over ten years." ACRL's participation in creating the survey has changed the process significantly. After two years of deliberation, the task force settled on a total of 19 new position descriptions approved by ACRL to be sent out with the survey in fall 2008. Curation of the revised job descriptions has been given to to the ACRL Personnel Discussion Group.

In addition to the salary trends and analysis that can be identified with an annual survey, the task force has also indicated that the position descriptions should be used "to establish 1) a range for a new hire or promotion, and/or 2) adjustment to an existing position salary for an individual whose salary has become 'out of synch' with other campus positions or with the profession as a whole."

However, as noted in the introduction, "several years of survey results need to be collected and reported in these new categories" in order to get usable benchmarks.

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