Circulation Librarian Overview
Working as a Circulation Librarian
There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a circulation librarian. For example, did you know that they make an average of $24.15 an hour? That's $50,240 a year!
Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 6% and produce 8,500 job opportunities across the U.S.
What Does a Circulation Librarian Do
There are certain skills that many circulation librarians 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 reading skills, communication skills and interpersonal skills.
When it comes to the most important skills required to be a circulation librarian, we found that a lot of resumes listed 32.4% of circulation librarians included library materials, while 19.7% of resumes included circulation desk, and 8.0% of resumes included customer service. Hard skills like these are helpful to have when it comes to performing essential job responsibilities.
When it comes to searching for a job, many search for a key term or phrase. Instead, it might be more helpful to search by industry, as you might be missing jobs that you never thought about in industries that you didn't even think offered positions related to the circulation librarian job title. But what industry to start with? Most circulation librarians actually find jobs in the education and hospitality industries.
How To Become a Circulation Librarian
If you're interested in becoming a circulation librarian, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 60.0% of circulation librarians have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 17.6% of circulation librarians have master's degrees. Even though most circulation librarians have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Choosing the right major is always an important step when researching how to become a circulation librarian. When we researched the most common majors for a circulation librarian, we found that they most commonly earn bachelor's degree degrees or master's degree degrees. Other degrees that we often see on circulation librarian resumes include associate degree degrees or high school diploma degrees.
You may find that experience in other jobs will help you become a circulation librarian. In fact, many circulation librarian jobs require experience in a role such as internship. Meanwhile, many circulation librarians also have previous career experience in roles such as sales associate or administrative assistant.
What is the right job for my career path?
Tell us your goals and we'll match you with the right jobs to get there.
Circulation Librarian Jobs
Circulation Librarian Career Paths
As you move along in your career, you may start taking on more responsibilities or notice that you've taken on a leadership role. Using our career map, a circulation librarian can determine their career goals through the career progression. For example, they could start out with a role such as librarian, progress to a title such as instructor and then eventually end up with the title account manager.
What is the right job for my career path?
Tell us your goals and we'll match you with the rights job to get there.
Top Colleges for Circulation Librarians
1. University of California - Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA
2. University of Maryland - College Park
College Park, MD
3. New York University
New York, NY
4. University of Washington
Seattle, WA
5. SUNY at Buffalo
Buffalo, NY
6. Syracuse University
Syracuse, NY
7. University of Iowa
Iowa City, IA
8. Louisiana State University and A&M College
Baton Rouge, LA
9. Washington Adventist Hospital
Takoma Park, MD
10. Georgia State University
Atlanta, GA
Entry Level Jobs For Becoming A Circulation Librarian
Top Skills For a Circulation Librarian
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, 32.4% of circulation librarians listed library materials on their resume, but soft skills such as reading skills and communication skills are important as well.
- Library Services, 30.1%
- Circulation Desk, 24.7%
- Customer Service, 15.3%
- Reference Questions, 4.7%
- New Materials, 3.4%
- Other Skills, 21.8% See All Circulation Librarian Skills