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Student Placement and Employment Data

This page provides recent information on the SLIS students’ employment within 12 months of graduation. Graduate employment data is gathered in multiple formats, including through semesterly Exit Surveys, annual Alumni Surveys, and employment status on LinkedIn profiles. Historically, SLIS also participated in the LJ Salary Survey. SLIS is continually working to improve its data collection processes for employment statistics. Our current statistics show that SLIS students have a high rate of employment upon graduation:

The Alumni Survey conducted in Spring 2025 shows that 97% of respondents were employed within 12 months of graduation (response rate of 17.7%).

94% of 2024 graduates whose employment status was reported on LinkedIn were employed or pursuing additional education within one year of graduation.
(Knowledge rate of 76% of our 2024 graduates)

SLIS graduates go on to hold a wide variety of positions, including:

  • Archivist
  • Branch manager
  • Cataloging & metadata librarian
  • Competitive Intelligence Analyst
  • Data manager
  • Digital asset managers
  • Digital Initiatives Librarian
  • Electronic Resources Librarian
  • Government information specialist
  • Information architect 
  • Instruction librarian
  • Law Librarian
  • Literacy and children's literature specialist
  • Makerspace/ Memory lab coordinator
  • Medical librarian 
  • Preservation manager
  • Product content operations leader
  • Product strategist
  • Rare-book specialist
  • Records Manager
  • School librarian
  • User experience researcher

Library Journal articles:

SLIS opted to add specifications of "Professional" and "Non-professional" for employment outside of the LIS field, as reflected in the tables below. This additional question could not be included in the 2017 survey.

2023 Survey Data Overview

Overall Survey Response Rate, 2023 Salary and Placement Survey:
  • Total 2023 Graduates: 278
  • Surveys Sent: 274
  • Survey Response: 86
  • Response Rate: 31%
Employment Status In and Outside of the Library/Information Science Field:
Employment Status2023 (n=86)
EmployedIn LIS: 90% (77), Outside LIS: 8% (7)
Unemployed2% (2)
TOTAL100%

2022 Survey Data Overview

Overall Survey Response Rate, 2022 Salary and Placement Survey:
  • Total 2022 Graduates: 295
  • Surveys sent: 287
  • Survey response: 22% (63)
Employment Status In and Outside of the Library/Information Science Field:
Employment Status2022 (n=63)
EmployedIn LIS: 90% (57), Outside LIS: 5% (3)
Unemployed5% (3)
TOTAL100% (3)

2021 Survey Data Overview

Overall Survey Response Rate, 2021 Salary and Placement Survey:
  • Total 2021 Graduates: 265
  • Surveys sent: 254
  • Survey response: 32% (81)
Employment Status In and Outside of the Library/Information Science Field:
Employment Status2021 (n=78)
EmployedIn LIS: 66% (52), Outside LIS: 31% (24)
Unemployed3% (2)
TOTAL100% (78)

2020 Survey Data Overview

Overall Survey Response Rate, 2020 Salary and Placement Survey:
  • Total 2020 Graduates: 301
  • Surveys sent: 265
  • Survey response: 30% (80)
Employment Status In and Outside of the Library/Information Science Field
Employment Status2020 (n=80)
EmployedIn LIS: 77.5% (62), Outside LIS: 17.5% (14)
Unemployed5% (4)
TOTAL100% (80)

2019 Survey Data Overview

Overall Survey Response Rate, 2019 Salary and Placement Survey:
  • Total 2019 Graduates: 301
  • Surveys sent: 292
  • Survey response: 38% (112)
Employment Status In and Outside of the Library/Information Science Field:
Employment Status2019 (n=112)
EmployedIn LIS: 77.6% (87), Outside LIS: 15% (17)
Unemployed7% (8)
TOTAL100% (112)

2018 Survey Data Overview

Overall Survey Response Rate, 2018 Salary and Placement Survey:
  • Total 2018 Graduates: 287
  • Surveys sent: 257
  • Survey response: 24% (60)
Employment Status In and Outside of the Library/Information Science Field:
Employment Status2018 (n=60)
EmployedIn LIS: 88% (53), Outside LIS: 8% (5)
Unemployed3% (2)
TOTAL100% (60)

2017 Survey Data Overview

Overall Survey Response Rate, 2017 Salary and Placement Survey:
  • Total 2017 Graduates: 270
  • Surveys sent: 240
  • Survey response: 47% (113)
Employment Status In and Outside of the Library/Information Science Field:
Employment Status2017 (n=101)
EmployedIn LIS: 85% (86), Outside LIS: 12.8% (13)
98% (99)
Unemployed1.9% (2)
TOTAL100% (101)
 

2016 Survey Data Overview

Overall Survey Response Rate, 2016 Salary and Placement Survey:
  • Total 2016 Graduates: 289
  • Surveys sent: 227
  • Survey response: 55.9% (127)

Employment Status In and Outside of the Library/Information Science Field:

Employment Status2016 (n=94)
EmployedIn LIS: 69% (65), Outside LIS: 27.6% (26)
96.8% (91)
Unemployed3% (3)
TOTAL100% (94)

Professional or Non-Professional Status:

Position Status2016 (n=85)
Professional80% (68)
Non-Professional9% (8)
Outside of the field (Pro)8% (7)
Outside of the field (Non-pro)2% (2)
TOTAL100% (85)

2015 Survey Data Overview

Overall Survey Response Rate, 2015 Salary and Placement Survey:
  • Total 2015 Graduates: 256
  • Surveys sent: 177
  • Survey response: 46.8% (83)

Employment Status In and Outside of the Library/Information Science Field:

Employment Status2015 (n=83)
EmployedIn LIS: 83% (69), Outside LIS: 12% (10)
95% (79)
Unemployed4.8% (4)
TOTAL100% (83)

Professional or Non-Professional Status:

Position Status2015 (n=72)
Professional80% (58)
Non-Professional13.8% (10)
Outside of the field (Pro)4% (3)
Outside of the field (Non-pro)1% (1)
TOTAL100% (72)

2014 Survey Data Overview

Overall Survey Response Rate, 2014 Salary and Placement Survey:
  • Total 2014 Graduates: 254
  • Survey response: 51% (130)

Employment Status In and Outside of the Library/Information Science Field:

Employment Status2014 (n=130)
EmployedIn LIS: 81% (106), Outside LIS: 11% (15)
93% (121)
Unemployed6% (9)
TOTAL100% (130)

Professional or Non-Professional Status:

Position Status2014 (n=121)
Professional72% (88)
Non-Professional14% (18)
Outside of the field (Pro)11% (14)
Outside of the field (Non-pro).8% (1)
TOTAL100% (121)

2013 Survey Data Overview

Overall Survey Response Rate, 2013 Salary and Placement Survey:
  • Total 2013 Graduates: 275
  • Survey response: 71% (197)

Employment Status In and Outside of the Library/Information Science Field:

Employment Status2013 (n=194)
EmployedIn LIS: 76% (149), Outside LIS: 12% (24)
89% (173)
Unemployed10% (21)
TOTAL100% (194)

Professional or Non-Professional Status:

Position Status2013 (n=173)
Professional60% (104)
Non-Professional26% (45)
Outside of the field (Pro)9% (17)
Outside of the field (Non-pro)4% (7)
TOTAL100%

2012 Survey Data Overview

Overall Survey Response Rate, 2012 Salary and Placement Survey:
  • Total 2012 Graduates: 325
  • Survey response: 64% (208)

Employment Status In and Outside of the Library/Information Science Field:

Employment Status2012 (n=199)
EmployedIn LIS: 74% (148), Outside LIS: 19% (37)
93% (185)
Unemployed7% (14)
TOTAL100% (199)

Professional or Non-Professional Status:

Position Status2012 (n=171)
Professional73% (125)
Non-Professional20% (35)
Outside of the field (Pro)4% (6)
Outside of the field (Non-pro)3% (5)
TOTAL100%