Post job

Assistant librarian vs reference assistant

The differences between assistant librarians and reference assistants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, an assistant librarian has an average salary of $53,764, which is higher than the $27,874 average annual salary of a reference assistant.

The top three skills for an assistant librarian include library materials, reference services and library services. The most important skills for a reference assistant are library materials, library patrons, and interlibrary loan.

Assistant librarian vs reference assistant overview

Assistant LibrarianReference Assistant
Yearly salary$53,764$27,874
Hourly rate$25.85$13.40
Growth rate-4%-4%
Number of jobs1,617658
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 55%Bachelor's Degree, 76%
Average age4747
Years of experience--

Assistant librarian vs reference assistant salary

Assistant librarians and reference assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.

Assistant LibrarianReference Assistant
Average salary$53,764$27,874
Salary rangeBetween $40,000 And $71,000Between $21,000 And $36,000
Highest paying CityHayward, CA-
Highest paying stateAlaska-
Best paying companyKent Daniels & Associates-
Best paying industryHealth Care-

Differences between assistant librarian and reference assistant education

There are a few differences between an assistant librarian and a reference assistant in terms of educational background:

Assistant LibrarianReference Assistant
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 55%Bachelor's Degree, 76%
Most common majorBusinessEnglish
Most common collegeNew York UniversityNew York University

Assistant librarian vs reference assistant demographics

Here are the differences between assistant librarians' and reference assistants' demographics:

Assistant LibrarianReference Assistant
Average age4747
Gender ratioMale, 31.5% Female, 68.5%Male, 32.3% Female, 67.7%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 9.6% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 14.9% Asian, 6.3% White, 63.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%Black or African American, 10.4% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 14.5% Asian, 6.4% White, 63.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%
LGBT Percentage11%11%

Differences between assistant librarian and reference assistant duties and responsibilities

Assistant librarian example responsibilities.

  • Manage yearly budget for DVDs.
  • Cataloge new book, reclassify, original updates using OCLC.
  • Help patrons with computers, word processing, and PowerPoint.
  • Provide customer service through assisting the patrons with their research topics and general questions through OCLC library information system.
  • Create PowerPoint presentations for orientation.
  • Provide opportunities for students to use the library for class-relate research, individual investigation, independent reading, and personal inquiry.
  • Show more

Reference assistant example responsibilities.

  • Construct and manage subject LibGuides.
  • Manage yearly budget for DVDs.
  • Search for and retrieve cases from online databases such as Westlaw and Lexis-Nexis.
  • Prepare library libguides and bibliographies on various areas of law.
  • Train fellow staff members in inter-library loan procedures and online database, OCLC.
  • Process requests for journal articles and books from RapidILL, OCLC, and DOCLINE.
  • Show more

Assistant librarian vs reference assistant skills

Common assistant librarian skills
  • Library Materials, 11%
  • Reference Services, 6%
  • Library Services, 6%
  • Circulation Desk, 5%
  • Collection Development, 5%
  • Library Resources, 5%
Common reference assistant skills
  • Library Materials, 8%
  • Library Patrons, 7%
  • Interlibrary Loan, 6%
  • Reference Desk, 6%
  • Reference Services, 6%
  • Library Resources, 5%

Browse office and administrative jobs