Salaries of special librarians in the United States

This article reviews the salaries of the US members of the Special Libraries Association who have responded to the Association’s Salary Surveys and compares them to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) from 1982 to 2012. Salaries are shown to have increased sharply as has the CPI for the years studied. Significant gains have occurred in the mean and median salaries from 1982 to 2002. In the years following 2002, the salary gains were smaller, while the CPI increased at a higher rate. The salaries of these members of the Special Libraries Association are compared to the average salary for all librarians in the United States. This paper also comments on the salaries paid to holders of other advanced degrees which have similar educational requirements.