How To Become A Children's Librarian: What It Is and Career Path

What is a children's librarian and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted expert

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

A children's librarian specializes in library collections and activities that are targeted towards children. They can work in a public library or a school library, any library where many children are patrons. They help develop the children's collection by buying new books and staying on top of new releases that are popular with young readers. They organize events that help children develop a love of reading, such as costumed storytelling hours and classroom visits. Children's librarians also handle the less enjoyable parts of library work, such as making sure that data in a library catalog is correct and organizing the budget.

Like most other librarians, children's librarians need a master's degree in library science in order to work in a public library. However, some are able to find work with only a bachelor's or associate's degree. It also helps if a children's librarian has some experience working with kids, for example as a volunteer or teacher.

Once they are hired, they can earn an average salary of $50,092 a year.

What general advice would you give to a children's 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.

ScoreChildren's LibrarianUS Average

Salary

3.9

Avg. Salary $49,900

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

5.6

Growth rate 6%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

2.5

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.33%

Asian 4.84%

Black or African American 6.33%

Hispanic or Latino 7.70%

Unknown 3.58%

White 77.22%

Gender

female 89.38%

male 10.62%

Age - 48

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 - 48

Stress level

5.6

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

5.6

Complexity level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work life balance

9.5

Work life balance is excellent

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a children's librarian

Explore children's librarian education requirements

Most common children's librarian degrees

Bachelor's

59.8 %

Master's

23.0 %

Associate

10.2 %

Start to develop specific children's librarian skills

Skills	Percentages
Reference Services	11.98%
Collection Development	11.81%
Youth Services	9.35%
Library Services	6.67%
Teen	6.36%

Complete relevant children's librarian training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New children's 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 a children's librarian based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real children's librarian resumes.

Research children's librarian duties and responsibilities

Achieve proficiency cataloging electronic materials (audio records, video recordings, and streaming video) and continuing resources/serials.
Provide opportunities for students to use the library for class-relate research, individual investigation, independent reading, and personal inquiry.
Open new patron accounts, provide customer support regarding account status and work with Polaris systems.

Prepare your children's librarian resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your children's 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 a children's 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 children's librarian resume templates

Build a professional children's 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 children's librarian resume.

Apply for children's librarian jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a children's 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 children's librarians rate their job?

-/5

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

Children's 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"?