There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a circulation clerk. For example, did you know that they make an average of $11.69 an hour? That's $24,325 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow -3% and produce -5,600 job opportunities across the U.S.

What Does a Circulation Clerk Do

There are certain skills that many circulation clerks have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed detail oriented, technology skills and communication skills.

How To Become a Circulation Clerk

If you're interested in becoming a circulation clerk, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 54.4% of circulation clerks have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 6.5% of circulation clerks have master's degrees. Even though most circulation clerks have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.

Learn More About How To Become a Circulation Clerk

Circulation Clerk Career Paths

Average Salary for a Circulation Clerk

Circulation Clerks in America make an average salary of $24,325 per year or $12 per hour. The top 10 percent makes over $30,000 per year, while the bottom 10 percent under $19,000 per year.
Average Circulation Clerk Salary
$24,325 Yearly
$11.69 hourly

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Roles and Types of Circulation Clerk

The role of a circulation clerk includes a wide range of responsibilities. These responsibilities can vary based on an individual's specific job, company, or industry.Here are some general circulation clerk responsibilities:

  • Charges and discharges library materials, including library reserves. Registers borrowers
  • Respect for the individual, our organization
  • Respect for the individual, our organization

There are several types of circulation clerk, including:

Clerk

Role:

Clerks have a lot of administrative roles in their day-to-day job responsibilities. From answering the phone to typing up documents, and even filing and speaking with clients, clerks have a lot on their shoulders.

For the most part, you only need to graduate from high school before becoming a clerk but some clerk positions may require you to complete a certification course beforehand. The majority of your knowledge of the job will come from the on-the-job training you'll be taken through.

You may not have a lot of stress in your day or you could feel a lot of stress, it really depends on what industry you choose to start your career in. Speaking of, you have a lot of options. On the plus side, you'll never work more than 40 hours a week so you can leave work at the office and enjoy your time off.
  • Average Salary: $31,163
  • Degree: Bachelor's Degree

Library Aide

Role:

Who maintains the library's day-to-day operations, especially when the librarian is busy? That's the job of a library aide, sometimes known as a library assistant. The library aide does whatever it takes to keep the library running. Unlike the librarian, they don't need a library degree to do their job.

The library aide doesn't spend their whole day shushing people. They take care of various clerical duties such as checking out or returning books and keeping track of materials. The library aide may be surrounded by books, but they also need to be good with people in order to help customers find what they need.

There are many different kinds of libraries, so the library aide can work in many places. They can work in a public library or in one located inside of a school or university. A library aide can even work in a law office or for a private business that is large enough to have its own library.
  • Average Salary: $28,197
  • Degree: Bachelor's Degree

Library Clerk

Role:

As a library clerk who is often referred to as a library assistant, it's your duty to support the library's librarians with activities such as shelving books and helping a book patron locate reference materials and services.

As a successful library clerks you should have excellent memorization, organization and research skills, and a kind, friendly demeanor. You should also have a passion for reading and learning, good English, math and computer skills, and some experience.

Training requirements for library clerks are generally minimal. As an library clerk, you should hold a high school diploma or its equivalent although some libraries also hire high school students. Additionally, you can receive most of your training during the course of the job.

The BLS reports that graduates who gravitate toward this field end up laying claim to annual earnings that top out at $25,921. The current median pay for a library clerk ranges from $20,450 to $29,548 in the US. However, this figure can vary significantly depending upon your experience, skills, or organization.
  • Average Salary: $30,275
  • Degree: Bachelor's Degree

States With The Most Circulation Clerk Jobs

Number Of Circulation Clerk Jobs By State

RankStateNumber of JobsAverage Salary
1Texas2,277$20,530
2Florida1,783$23,040
3New York1,577$29,320
4Pennsylvania1,226$23,502
5Ohio1,194$22,754
6Illinois1,106$23,039
7Michigan1,019$22,907
8Washington965$26,972
9Georgia917$21,639
10North Carolina856$22,367
11Virginia829$22,741
12Indiana822$21,548
13Massachusetts777$30,911
14Tennessee744$22,350
15Minnesota736$26,986
16Wisconsin705$22,690
17Missouri701$20,628
18Colorado639$24,625
19Maryland520$25,190
20Kansas474$24,995
21Kentucky459$25,294
22Connecticut456$28,992
23California419$30,895
24Utah418$23,959
25South Carolina389$22,112
26Oklahoma302$27,272
27Nebraska250$24,832
28Alabama250$22,584
29New Jersey247$24,502
30Iowa234$23,404
31Louisiana210$25,085
32Idaho196$21,527
33New Mexico194$21,254
34Mississippi182$24,738
35Arkansas170$20,969
36Delaware132$27,753
37South Dakota131$25,234
38West Virginia113$25,462
39Oregon109$22,680
40Alaska106$24,649
41New Hampshire104$29,252
42Rhode Island90$29,279
43Hawaii77$24,766
44Vermont72$29,175
45Maine72$28,335
46Arizona71$24,888
47North Dakota58$27,263
48Wyoming57$23,472
49Nevada50$28,134
50Montana10$25,170

Circulation Clerk Education

Circulation Clerk Majors

14.8 %
14.6 %

Circulation Clerk Degrees

Bachelors

54.4 %

Associate

19.7 %

High School Diploma

14.2 %

Top Colleges for Circulation Clerks

1. Stanford University

Stanford, CA • Private

In-State Tuition

$51,354

Enrollment

7,083

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Computer Science
Business
Education
Political Science
English

2. University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA • Private

In-State Tuition

$55,584

Enrollment

10,764

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Business
Computer Science
Health Care Administration
Communication
History

3. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

In-State Tuition

$54,568

Enrollment

8,451

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Business
Liberal Arts
Communication
Psychology
Computer Science

4. University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA • Private

In-State Tuition

$56,225

Enrollment

19,548

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Business
Computer Science
Education
Communication
Accounting

5. California State University - Bakersfield

Bakersfield, CA • Private

In-State Tuition

$7,309

Enrollment

9,142

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Liberal Arts
Business
Education
Psychology
Criminal Justice

6. SUNY at Binghamton

Vestal, NY • Private

In-State Tuition

$9,808

Enrollment

13,990

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Accounting
Psychology
Computer Science
Business
English

7. Villanova University

Villanova, PA • Private

In-State Tuition

$53,308

Enrollment

6,819

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Business
Communication
Accounting
Liberal Arts
Psychology

8. San Diego State University

San Diego, CA • Private

In-State Tuition

$7,488

Enrollment

30,018

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Business
Psychology
Liberal Arts
Criminal Justice
Elementary Education

9. Bentley University

Waltham, MA • Private

In-State Tuition

$49,880

Enrollment

4,177

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Accounting
Business
Communication
Liberal Arts
English

10. Boston University

Boston, MA • Private

In-State Tuition

$53,948

Enrollment

17,238

Admissions
Most Popular Majors
Business
Education
Communication
Computer Science
Psychology

Top Skills For a Circulation Clerk

The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 18.5% of circulation clerks listed customer service on their resume, but soft skills such as detail oriented and technology skills are important as well.

  • Customer Service, 18.5%
  • Patron Accounts, 17.6%
  • Library Materials, 14.7%
  • Circulation Desk, 6.1%
  • Library Patrons, 3.6%
  • Other Skills, 39.5%

Choose From 10+ Customizable Circulation Clerk Resume templates

Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Circulation Clerk templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Circulation Clerk resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.

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Circulation Clerk Demographics

Circulation Clerk Gender Distribution

Female
Female
77%
Male
Male
23%

After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:

  • Among circulation clerks, 77.0% of them are women, while 23.0% are men.

  • The most common race/ethnicity among circulation clerks is White, which makes up 63.9% of all circulation clerks.

  • The most common foreign language among circulation clerks is Spanish at 47.5%.

Online Courses For Circulation Clerk That You May Like

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Top Circulation Clerk Employers

Most Common Employers For Circulation Clerk

RankCompanyAverage SalaryHourly RateJob Openings
1Fordham University$27,748$13.344
2Morgan County Charter School System$25,996$12.505
3Williamson County$24,846$11.954
4Johnson County Public Library$24,159$11.615
5Metropolitan Library System$23,908$11.4913
6Jefferson County Library$23,758$11.424
7Portsmouth Main Library$23,756$11.429
8Little Dixie Regional Library$23,747$11.425
9Ann Arbor District Library$23,744$11.427
10Orange County Library System$23,717$11.4024

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