Labor Market Segmentation and Librarian Salaries

Librarian earnings functions have been found to differ by type of library and by sex within library type. The present study uses segmented labor market theory to explain how the structure of the library labor market may determine salary differences by type of library. Data on the public, academic, and school library labor markets are used to show that the library labor market is segmented by type of library; that this segmentation contributes to the observed differences in earnings functions by type of library; and that the segmentation of the library labor market reflects segmentation of the labor market generally. A secondary result of this study is that it shows the value of intraoccupational studies like this one for a full understanding of labor market segmentation. By finding evidence of labor market segmentation at the intraoccupational level, it shows that the more usual approach to segmented labor markets, comparing entire occupations or industries, may obscure important differences.