How To Become An Interlibrary Loan Librarian: What It Is and Career Path

What is an interlibrary loan librarian and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being an interlibrary loan librarian. For example, did you know that they make an average of $25.39 an hour? That's $52,814 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 6% and produce 8,500 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreInterlibrary Loan LibrarianUS Average

Salary

4.1

Avg. Salary $52,814

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

5.6

Growth rate 6%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

2.5

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.33%

Asian 4.86%

Black or African American 6.37%

Hispanic or Latino 7.74%

Unknown 3.58%

White 77.12%

Gender

female 73.77%

male 26.23%

Age - 48

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 - 48

Stress level

5.6

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

5.6

Complexity level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work life balance

9.5

Work life balance is excellent

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become an interlibrary loan librarian

Explore interlibrary loan librarian education requirements

Most common interlibrary loan librarian degrees

Bachelor's

45.1 %

Master's

33.3 %

Associate

15.7 %

Start to develop specific interlibrary loan librarian skills

Skills	Percentages
OCLC	33.41%
Database	27.38%
Reference Assistance	21.71%
Circulation Desk	17.50%

Complete relevant interlibrary loan librarian training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New interlibrary loan librarians 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 an interlibrary loan librarian based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real interlibrary loan librarian resumes.

Research interlibrary loan librarian duties and responsibilities

Achieve proficiency cataloging electronic materials (audio records, video recordings, and streaming video) and continuing resources/serials.
Provide opportunities for students to use the library for class-relate research, individual investigation, independent reading, and personal inquiry.
Provide client services such as inter-library loans, ordering of new materials and instruction on use of library OPAC.

Prepare your interlibrary loan librarian resume

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

Choose from 10+ customizable interlibrary loan librarian resume templates

Build a professional interlibrary loan librarian 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 interlibrary loan librarian resume.