January 04, 2001 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Librarians in 2008—more in business settings

The number of librarian jobs is projected to grow about 5 percent between 1998 and 2008. However, the occupation is expected to grow much faster than that average in some industries, notably business services.

[Chart data—TXT]

Librarian jobs in the business services industry are projected to grow by 87 percent between 1998 and 2008, by far the largest percent increase. Museums and botanical and zoological gardens are expected to experience a 51-percent growth rate, followed by social services at 44 percent, engineering and management services at 39 percent, and legal services at 22 percent. More moderate growth rates of 12 and 8 percent, respectively, are expected in local governments and State governments (exclusive of education and hospitals).

Education is not expected to experience any growth in librarian employment, while the Federal Government is projected to have a 12-percent loss in employment.

These data are a product of the Office of Employment Projections. For more information, see "Librarians: Information experts in the information age," by Olivia Crosby, Occupational Outlook Quarterly, Winter 2000-01.