27 Association of Research Libraries Research Library Issues 295 2018 expect this trend will reverse itself anytime soon. Figure 9 The data on library staff collected by the US Current Population Survey (CPS) appear to reflect this trend as well. The CPS produces annual, unpublished data relating the number, age, and sex of library professionals and support staff. This data is significantly different from the ARL data in that it is based on sampling, not self-report, and includes individuals working in all types of libraries. The CPS data has nonetheless mirrored ARL’s as to age for decades, but the estimated number of individuals in both the professional and support staff occupations has been volatile, perhaps not surprising given the small size of the library profession. So while the ARL data has the number of professionals increasing, the CPS data has it declining precipitously. Another significant difference between the two sets is that professionals outnumber support staff by at least four to one in the CPS data. Whatever these discrepancies may mean for its reliability, it is remarkable that the 2015 CPS data set has the number of individuals in both the professional and support staff occupation categories dropping by about 15% in just one year, reaching
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