Catherwood LibraryILR School

After soaring above the available supply of individuals holding masters degrees in library science in the late 1990's, the demand for qualified librarians has fallen back below the level of job seekers as tight budgets lead many public employers to reduce library staff. What does not come across in national figures, however, is the variation in demand between different areas in the country---with shortages in some areas so acute that individuals close to finishing their degrees are being hired to work while they complete them. Driving this variation is a large and rapidly growing wave of retirements combined with budget constraints that are causing many school districts to fill empty positions with poorly trained volunteers, despite the proven education gains from trained librarians in an age of increasingly complex information sources.