Also called: Head librarian, City librarian, University librarian
Leads a public library system or university library, with its staff, buildings, budget, and community programs.
Library directors manage budgets, plan new branches, negotiate digital subscriptions worth millions, handle book challenges, and work with city councils or university leaders. Large-system directors oversee hundreds of staff.
Estimate; varies by system size.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Master's degree, about 15 years after high school. MLIS plus many years of library management experience.
Ways in: Graduate school. Training cost: $60k – $150k.
Majors to look at: Library Science, Public Administration, Any major.
Growing about average (about 3% over 10 years). BLS projects ~3% growth for librarians and library media specialists.
Low risk for 10 years. AI changes library services and budgets, but leading staff, handling book challenges and working with city councils stay human.
Classes: Government, Business, AP English Language.
Official data: O*NET occupation 11-9199.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.