Government documents librarian vs library director

The differences between government documents librarians and library directors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a government documents librarian and a library director. Additionally, a government documents librarian has an average salary of $52,928, which is higher than the $44,750 average annual salary of a library director.

The top three skills for a government documents librarian include collection development, depository and federal government. The most important skills for a library director are library services, collection development, and professional development.

Government documents librarian vs library director overview

	Government Documents Librarian	Library Director
Yearly salary	$52,928	$44,750
Hourly rate	$25.45	$21.51
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	1,488	5,428
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 61%	Bachelor's Degree, 55%
Average age	48	48
Years of experience	2	2

Government documents librarian vs library director salary

Government documents librarians and library directors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Government Documents Librarian	Library Director
Average salary	$52,928	$44,750
Salary range	Between $35,000 And $78,000	Between $28,000 And $69,000
Highest paying City	-	Hoboken, NJ
Highest paying state	-	Alaska
Best paying company	-	University of California, Berkeley
Best paying industry	-	Education

Differences between government documents librarian and library director education

There are a few differences between a government documents librarian and a library director in terms of educational background:

	Government Documents Librarian	Library Director
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 61%	Bachelor's Degree, 55%
Most common major	Library Science	Library Science
Most common college	New York University	New York University

Government documents librarian vs library director demographics

Here are the differences between government documents librarians' and library directors' demographics:

	Government Documents Librarian	Library Director
Average age	48	48
Gender ratio	Male, 44.1% Female, 55.9%	Male, 29.5% Female, 70.5%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 6.6% Unknown, 3.6% Hispanic or Latino, 7.9% Asian, 5.0% White, 76.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%	Black or African American, 6.4% Unknown, 3.6% Hispanic or Latino, 7.7% Asian, 4.9% White, 77.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage	16%	16%

Differences between government documents librarian and library director duties and responsibilities

Government documents librarian example responsibilities.

Recruit, train, and manage volunteers, teen ambassadors, book buddies, elderly volunteers, and teen tech assistants.
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.

Library director example responsibilities.

Manage records of circulation and materials, maintain inventory, and correct cataloging errors.
Hire & supervise 26 staff , 16 FTE.
Supervise one FTE and six part time employees.
Investigate and troubleshoot protocols, procedures and reagents.
Work with vendors to develop licensing and to troubleshoot electronic access.
Provide oversight of the acquisitions process at all stages, including final approval.

Government documents librarian vs library director skills

Common government documents librarian skills

Collection Development, 26%
Depository, 20%
Federal Government, 16%
Library Resources, 8%
Cataloging, 7%
Research Guides, 7%

Common library director skills

Library Services, 16%
Collection Development, 7%
Professional Development, 6%
Library Operations, 6%
Academic Library, 6%
Library Resources, 5%

Government Documents Librarian vs. similar jobs

Government Documents Librarian related careers

Government Documents Librarian related jobs

What similar roles do

Zippia Careers
Education, Training, and Library Industry
Government Documents Librarian
Government Documents Librarian vs Library Director

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse education, training, and library jobs