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Circulation worker vs shelver

The differences between circulation workers and shelvers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a circulation worker has an average salary of $24,116, which is higher than the $24,091 average annual salary of a shelver.

The top three skills for a circulation worker include library materials, library services and customer service. The most important skills for a shelver are library materials, dewey decimal system, and dvds.

Circulation worker vs shelver overview

Circulation WorkerShelver
Yearly salary$24,116$24,091
Hourly rate$11.59$11.58
Growth rate-4%-4%
Number of jobs19,380409
Job satisfaction-5
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 82%Bachelor's Degree, 51%
Average age4747
Years of experience--

Circulation worker vs shelver salary

Circulation workers and shelvers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Circulation WorkerShelver
Average salary$24,116$24,091
Salary rangeBetween $18,000 And $31,000Between $18,000 And $30,000
Highest paying City--
Highest paying state--
Best paying company--
Best paying industry--

Differences between circulation worker and shelver education

There are a few differences between a circulation worker and a shelver in terms of educational background:

Circulation WorkerShelver
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 82%Bachelor's Degree, 51%
Most common majorHistoryEnglish
Most common collegeUniversity of Michigan - Ann ArborMassachusetts Institute of Technology

Circulation worker vs shelver demographics

Here are the differences between circulation workers' and shelvers' demographics:

Circulation WorkerShelver
Average age4747
Gender ratioMale, 37.6% Female, 62.4%Male, 38.1% Female, 61.9%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 10.0% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 15.2% Asian, 4.1% White, 65.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%Black or African American, 9.2% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 15.3% Asian, 5.0% White, 64.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%
LGBT Percentage11%11%

Differences between circulation worker and shelver duties and responsibilities

Circulation worker example 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.

Shelver example responsibilities.

  • Assist patrons in their searches and shelve books, DVDs, CDs, and audiobooks.
  • Shelve all library material (books, magazines, CDs, DVDs, audio-books, etc . )
  • Shelve fiction, large print and new books.
  • Improve the layout plan of the adult fiction section.
  • Process internal and external inter-library loan requests for fiction and non-fiction titles and digital media.
  • Process internal and external inter-library loan requests for fiction and non-fiction titles and digital media.

Circulation worker vs shelver skills

Common circulation worker skills
  • Library Materials, 25%
  • Library Services, 20%
  • Customer Service, 14%
  • Library System, 13%
  • Newspapers, 13%
  • Front Desk, 9%
Common shelver skills
  • Library Materials, 29%
  • Dewey Decimal System, 8%
  • DVDs, 7%
  • Book Displays, 5%
  • Customer Service, 5%
  • Shelve Books, 5%

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