How To Become An Assistant Librarian: What It Is and Career Path

What is an assistant librarian and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted expert

Dr. Jenna Kammer Ph.D., MLS, MA

Assistant librarians help librarians with all of the tasks needed to run a library. They can work in a public library, school library, or private library that a business such as a law firm operates for their own use. No matter where they work, assistant librarians handle the administrative duties of running a library such as maintaining an accurate catalog of the collection and opening library cards.

Assistant librarians also interact with patrons by helping them check out books, answering their questions, and providing book suggestions. Besides the day-to-day tasks of running a library, assistant librarians also help plan a library's overall strategy by coming up with events to attract a larger audience or acquiring new items that the public wants.

While most librarians need to have a master's degree in library science, assistant librarians can often get by with only a bachelor's degree. They sometimes need a few years of experience working in a library, for example as a volunteer, or in another customer service position. On average, assistant librarians earn $55,588 a year.

What general advice would you give to an assistant librarian?

Dr. Jenna Kammer Ph.D., MLS, MA

Associate Professor of Library Science (LIS), University of Central Missouri

We recommend that our graduate students get a job in a library prior to graduating if possible, or get to know the librarians in the area in which you want to work by volunteering, doing service projects, or internships. That will help with the transition into a library career and build a local network. As graduates begin a career as a librarian, take some time to learn how things work in the library by getting to know your collection, your patrons and the needs of the community. You may have a lot of ideas as you get started, but not enough time to do them all. Write these ideas down, as well as some action steps and resources for accomplishing them. Revisit these ideas as you can.

ScoreAssistant LibrarianUS Average

Salary

4.2

Avg. Salary $53,764

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

4.9

Growth rate -4%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

6.4

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.77%

Asian 6.31%

Black or African American 9.64%

Hispanic or Latino 14.93%

Unknown 4.77%

White 63.58%

Gender

female 68.51%

male 31.49%

Age - 49

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 49

Stress level

4.9

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

3.7

Complexity level is basic

7 - challenging

Work life balance

10.0

Work life balance is excellent

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become an assistant librarian

Explore assistant librarian education requirements

Most common assistant librarian degrees

Bachelor's

54.7 %

Associate

15.3 %

Master's

13.9 %

Start to develop specific assistant librarian skills

Skills	Percentages
Library Materials	11.44%
Reference Services	6.39%
Library Services	5.87%
Circulation Desk	5.40%
Collection Development	4.91%

Complete relevant assistant librarian training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New assistant librarians learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as an assistant librarian based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real assistant librarian resumes.

Research assistant librarian duties and 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.

Prepare your assistant librarian resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your assistant librarian resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on an assistant librarian resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable assistant librarian resume templates

Build a professional assistant librarian resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your assistant librarian resume.

Apply for assistant librarian jobs

Now it's time to start searching for an assistant librarian job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do assistant librarians rate their job?

-/5

5 stars

4 stars

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1 star

Assistant librarian reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Jan 2020

Pros

I'm an academic librarian, so helping students learn about information and research, teaching classes about same, and the intellectual aspect of working with information access around colleagues who are smart and kind. I've also been a teacher and a sales and marketing executive, but librarianship is by far my most rewarding career.

Cons

The pay. The stereotypes. The people who ask, "do they even still have libraries"?

A zippia user wrote a review on Oct 2019