New Survey: Palmer School Graduates Find Jobs Quickly
and Enjoy Rising Starting Salaries
Fieldwork and Internships Cited as Important

September 6, 2005 – While competition for jobs is fierce, graduates of the Palmer School of Library and Information Science, based at the C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University, are typically gaining employment within 60 days of graduation, according to a recent survey of its 2004 graduates.

In fact, nearly all graduates of the school found employment, with a mean entry level salary of $46,491, a 4.25% increase over the previous year, according to Dr. Mary Westermann-Cicio, Assistant Dean of the Palmer School. Graduates landed jobs in the following sectors:

• School Media 32%
• Public 35%
• Academic 19%
• Special 11%
• Other (information industry, archives, etc.) 3%

Most graduates took employment in New York State, with some employed in nearby New Jersey and Connecticut.

Fieldwork or internship experience was most frequently cited as being helpful or important in obtaining the first professional position, followed by networking with professionals in the field, technological skills and specialization in a particular area. Listservs were listed as a main resource for locating job opportunities and position announcements.

The Palmer School of Library and Information Science, founded in 1959, is nationally recognized for its American Library Association-accredited Master's Degree in Library and Information Science (a distinction shared by only 55 schools in the country), and for its Ph.D. in Information Studies, the only one of its kind in the New York metropolitan area. The M.S. degree in Library and Information Science offers specializations in such areas as school media specialist, archives and records management, public librarianship and rare books and special collections. The School also awards Advanced Certificates in Archives & Records Management and Public Library Director. Many of the Palmer School courses are also offered at sites in Brentwood, Westchester and Manhattan. The Palmer School is a division of C.W. Post's College of Information and Computer Science, which offers undergraduate and graduate programs in computer science, information systems and management engineering.

For more information, call the Palmer School at (516) 299-2866 or e-mail: palmer@cwpost.liu.edu or visit www.liu.edu/palmer.