How To Become A Circulation Worker: What It Is and Career Path

What is a circulation worker and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a circulation worker. For example, did you know that they make an average of $11.59 an hour? That's $24,116 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow -4% and produce -6,400 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreCirculation WorkerUS Average

Salary

1.9

Avg. Salary $24,116

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

4.9

Growth rate -4%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

6.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.77%

Asian 4.09%

Black or African American 9.97%

Hispanic or Latino 15.20%

Unknown 4.79%

White 65.18%

Gender

female 62.39%

male 37.61%

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 a circulation worker

Explore circulation worker education requirements

Most common circulation worker degrees

Bachelor's

81.8 %

High School Diploma

6.5 %

Master's

6.5 %

Start to develop specific circulation worker skills

Skills	Percentages
Library Materials	25.21%
Library Services	20.39%
Customer Service	14.13%
Library System	13.42%
Newspapers	13.26%

Complete relevant circulation worker training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New circulation workers 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 circulation worker based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real circulation worker resumes.

Research circulation worker duties and responsibilities

Process internal and external inter-library loan requests for fiction and non-fiction titles and digital media.
Develop library collection materials for young adults including award-winning non-fiction and fiction titles.

Prepare your circulation worker resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your circulation worker 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 circulation worker resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable circulation worker resume templates

Build a professional circulation worker 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 circulation worker resume.