Be sure to scroll to the right to see the entire chart!
| Academic Libraries | Public Libraries | School Libraries | Special Libraries | Consortia/Library Systems | Information Industry | |
| Types | Research, generally large public or private universities; 4-year colleges; 2-year/junior/community; professional schools; technical institutes | Large urban, central research libraries and branches; regional systems; municipal/town; rural | Public and private elementary, middle/junior, high schools; teacher resource centers | Corporate, government, nonprofit, by field,e.g.,biotechnology, insurance, finance, law, medicine, art; by type,e.g., foundation, corp HQ, R&D.. | Service agencies for cooperative automation, document delivery, cataloging, etc.; bibliographic utilities, e.g. OCLC and RLIN | Database producers, publishers, jobbers, subscription agencies, document delivery services, information brokers, automation vendors |
| Clienteles | Undergraduate and graduate students; faculty; public, if tax-supported | Residents of all ages; others through courtesy or contractual arrangements | School age youth; teachers and school administrators | Employees of the parent organization; members; in some cases, public | Libraries | Libraries; other information providers |
| Mission | Support curriculum and research; help students gain information literacy | Meet the informational, educational, and cultural needs of the community | Ensure that students and staff are effective users of information | Provide information that parent organization needs to meet its objectives | Enable libraries to share resources and expertise | Provide services and make a profit |
| Professional Qualifications | Larger libraries prefer MLS + subject master's; all want public service staff with electronic resources and BI expertise; for tech services languages are a plus. | Generalists and/or specialists, depending on size; good management/communication skills. In NJ, must be certified by state. For civil service municipalities, must pass exams. | In NJ, must have ed media certification, i.e., MLIS+teaching certificate OR MLIS+ed courses+experience. Most schools have only one librarian so s/he must be jack-of-all-trades: reference, cataloging, BI, automation... | Subject knowledge often essential. Many libraries have only one professional, so that person must be able to do everything and prove cost-effectiveness. | In addition to technical expertise, needs negotiation skills, understanding of all types of libraries | The industry hires MLS holders not only for their technical knowledge, but also for their ability to relate to libraries. Some jobs need training skills, others indexing or marketing |
| Professional Affiliations | ALA-ACRL, etc.; ARL; scholarly societies | ALA-PLA, etc.; state association; Urban Libraries Council | ALA-AASL, etc.; state ed media and teachers' associations; AECT | SLA; ALA; others depending on field, e.g., Medical Library Association, ARLIS/NA | ALA, ASIS, state associations | Information Industry Association, Association of American Publishers, ASIS, ALA |
| Advantages | Academic environment; faculty status, free tuition in some cases. If tenure granted, high security. | Variety; fairly swift advancement for talented and mobile; security with seniority | Can have a significant impact on a school; good hours; usually good salary | Possible to hone subject expertise, give tailored, in-depth info service | Opportunity for leadership and innovation | Alternative career path; may offer chance to travel and widen contacts |
| Disadvantages | If tenure-track, may have to publish, etc. Advanced degree may be required. | Hours may include nights, weekends; clientele may be problematic; budgets may be inadequate | Isolation as only librarian in a school; can lack administrative, clerical support | Must subscribe to values of parent organization; can be isolated; little job security | Removed from the library; can be caught in others' political/budget fights | Bottom line rules; not a high degree of job security |