Cataloger vs collection management librarian

The differences between catalogers and collection management librarians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a cataloger and a collection management librarian. Additionally, a collection management librarian has an average salary of $56,311, which is higher than the $34,943 average annual salary of a cataloger.

The top three skills for a cataloger include library catalog, RDA and cataloging. The most important skills for a collection management librarian are collection management, library services, and collection development.

Cataloger vs collection management librarian overview

	Cataloger	Collection Management Librarian
Yearly salary	$34,943	$56,311
Hourly rate	$16.80	$27.07
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	93	63,441
Job satisfaction	5	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 61%	Bachelor's Degree, 52%
Average age	48	48
Years of experience	2	2

Cataloger vs collection management librarian salary

Catalogers and collection management librarians have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Cataloger	Collection Management Librarian
Average salary	$34,943	$56,311
Salary range	Between $23,000 And $52,000	Between $40,000 And $79,000
Highest paying City	New Haven, CT	-
Highest paying state	Alaska	-
Best paying company	Harvard University	-
Best paying industry	Education	-

Differences between cataloger and collection management librarian education

There are a few differences between a cataloger and a collection management librarian in terms of educational background:

	Cataloger	Collection Management Librarian
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 61%	Bachelor's Degree, 52%
Most common major	History	Business
Most common college	University of Maryland - College Park	Stanford University

Cataloger vs collection management librarian demographics

Here are the differences between catalogers' and collection management librarians' demographics:

	Cataloger	Collection Management Librarian
Average age	48	48
Gender ratio	Male, 37.9% Female, 62.1%	Male, 37.1% Female, 62.9%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 6.4% Unknown, 3.6% Hispanic or Latino, 7.8% Asian, 4.9% White, 77.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%	Black or African American, 6.6% Unknown, 3.6% Hispanic or Latino, 7.9% Asian, 5.0% White, 76.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage	16%	16%

Differences between cataloger and collection management librarian duties and responsibilities

Cataloger example responsibilities.

Manage category of materials: including books, CDs, films and other documents.
Assign subject headings using LCSH.
Cataloge books and serials for all the school district libraries.
Master the use of cataloguing resources such as WorldCat and HomeBase.
Assist librarians in other EPA libraries with the conversion of their serials list.
Assign LCSH and LCC, as well as a local classification system for legal treatises.

Collection management librarian example responsibilities.

Prepare appeals and refunds for incorrect paid claims, resolve patient account disputes, manage AR and aging reports
Open and close accounts (checking, savings, IRA), managing all death and disability claims and ACH transactions.
Manage document delivery via Docline and consortia memberships.
Provide reference and instruction for undergraduate, HTML & CSS graduate, and online courses.
Process and post payroll for all area hospitals.
Implement MVC architecture for presentation and business layers.

Cataloger vs collection management librarian skills

Common cataloger skills

Library Catalog, 13%
RDA, 11%
Cataloging, 11%
OCLC, 8%
Online Database, 8%
Lcsh, 6%

Common collection management librarian skills

Collection Management, 16%
Library Services, 11%
Collection Development, 10%
Electronic Resources, 9%
Library Materials, 8%
Patient Accounts, 6%

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Cataloger vs Collection Management Librarian

Updated January 8, 2025

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