I have response analysis and statistical data for most of the Hiring Librarians surveys. I am still working through analysis for surveys that are still open, but have information for at least some of the questions.

If you’re interested in the feed of all the analysis I’ve posted ever, please follow this link.

If you’re interested in a particular survey, click on its title below for links to available statistics and analysis, as well as the list of survey questions. The surveys are listed in the order they were opened, newest to oldest.

Current Surveys

2024 State of the Library Job Market Survey

This survey launched in February of 2024. It asks people who hire to answer 39 questions in 4 sections: current hiring practices, your last recruitment, your workplace, and your demographics. It is an update of the Library Job Market survey that ran in 2015. It includes the controversial question, “Is Librarianship a Dying Profession?” The answer seems to still be “probably not” although many people specified that it is changing. This survey is still open; if you hire in a LIS field you may take the survey by following this link.

2023 Job Hunter’s Survey

This survey explores the current experiences of people searching for work in a LIS field (or fields). It launched in February of 2023. Respondents answer 37 questions in four different areas: Your Demographics and Search Parameters, The Process, You and Your Well-Being, and Job Hunting Post Grad School. As of June 2023 there are 447 responses. However, the survey is still open; anyone who is currently job hunting in a LIS field may take the survey by following this link.

All About Cover Letters

This survey asks people who hire in a LIS field to report their opinions and preferences around candidates’ use (or non-use) of cover letters. It launched November 2022. It has 21 questions, including things like “How many pages should a cover letter be?” and “What kinds of things make cover letters stand out (in good or bad ways)?” As of June 2023 there are 79 responses. The survey is still open, if you hire in a LIS field you may take the survey by following this link.

Personal Professional Websites

This survey opened in June 2022 and as of June 2023 has gathered 33 responses. There are 28 questions which collect information about aspects of and considerations for LIS workers’ personal professional websites, such as content, platforms used, and privacy considerations. The survey is still open; Any LIS worker who maintains their own personal professional website may take the survey by following this link.

A Return to Hiring Librarians

This is a general survey about how LIS workers are hired, interrogating both process and decision making. It opened in March of 2022 and as of June 2023 has gathered 197 responses. There are 23 questions. The survey is still open; if you hire in a LIS field you may take the survey by following this link.

Older Surveys

State of the Library Job Market

This survey ran from January 2015 to December 2015 and collected 269 responses. 27 questions reflect issues and concerns that came up in my work on hiring librarians from 2012-2014, including “Is Librarianship a Dying Profession?” (Probably not, although nearly a third of respondents thought it was). This survey is closed.

Job Hunter’s Survey 2012-2016

This is the Hiring Librarians survey with the largest number of responses (the current job hunter’s survey has the second largest). It was cowritten by Naomi House from INALJ. It asked LIS job hunters to answer 23 questions about their experiences and maybe blow off a little steam; job hunters were happy to oblige. The survey ran from December 2012 to January 2016 and gathered 587 responses. Many job hunters agreed to be non-anonymous, and we were able to follow up with them at one, two, three, and even more than a decade later. This survey is closed, but a new survey of job hunters was launched in 2023.

What Should Potential Hires Learn in Library School?

This survey ran from August 2013 to December 2015 and gathered 332 responses. It was co-written by Brianna Marshall, who was at the time the managing editor of Hack Library School. There were 21 questions. Respondents (people who hire LIS workers) gave opinions on how LIS students should spend their time in graduate school and if schools were adequately preparing students for the realities of LIS work. It generated some really fascinating discussion around online v. in-person library school and whether or not hiring managers had realistic expectations. This survey is closed.

What Should Candidates Wear?

This survey is biased and I’m not proud of it. It is deeply entrenched in stereotypical gender norms. The questions as well as the answers have caused pain, and I apologize. Some folks may find the answers interesting or useful, but others may wish to avoid them entirely. It ran from September 2012 to December 2013 and gathered 250 responses. It attempted to elicit specific responses about what people who hire LIS workers felt candidates should wear or not wear, including what aspects of a candidate’s appearance negatively influenced hiring. There were 27 questions. This survey was co-authored by Jill of the now defunct blog, Librarian Hire Fashion. The survey is closed.

Original Survey

The original Hiring Librarians survey ran from February 2012 to December 2015 and gathered 200 responses. It was really amazing to see it go from 7 responses in the first month to more than 100 in the second month. It surveys people who hire librarians and other LIS workers. 20 questions cover general information about hiring processes and decision making. It is superseded by the Return to Hiring Librarians survey and is closed.