Library assistant vs circulation desk assistant

The differences between library assistants and circulation desk assistants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a library assistant has an average salary of $30,146, which is higher than the $26,159 average annual salary of a circulation desk assistant.

The top three skills for a library assistant include customer service, library materials and circulation desk. The most important skills for a circulation desk assistant are library materials, customer service, and library patrons.

Library assistant vs circulation desk assistant overview

	Library Assistant	Circulation Desk Assistant
Yearly salary	$30,146	$26,159
Hourly rate	$14.49	$12.58
Growth rate	-4%	-4%
Number of jobs	1,122	25,638
Job satisfaction	5	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 59%	Bachelor's Degree, 76%
Average age	47	47
Years of experience	-	-

Library assistant vs circulation desk assistant salary

Library assistants and circulation desk assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Library Assistant	Circulation Desk Assistant
Average salary	$30,146	$26,159
Salary range	Between $22,000 And $39,000	Between $19,000 And $34,000
Highest paying City	Brookline, MA	-
Highest paying state	Massachusetts	-
Best paying company	Columbia University in the City of New York	-
Best paying industry	Professional	-

Differences between library assistant and circulation desk assistant education

There are a few differences between a library assistant and a circulation desk assistant in terms of educational background:

	Library Assistant	Circulation Desk Assistant
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 59%	Bachelor's Degree, 76%
Most common major	Business	Psychology
Most common college	Northwestern University	Northwestern University

Library assistant vs circulation desk assistant demographics

Here are the differences between library assistants' and circulation desk assistants' demographics:

	Library Assistant	Circulation Desk Assistant
Average age	47	47
Gender ratio	Male, 29.0% Female, 71.0%	Male, 33.7% Female, 66.3%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.5% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 14.4% Asian, 6.4% White, 63.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%	Black or African American, 9.6% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 14.5% Asian, 6.4% White, 63.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%
LGBT Percentage	11%	11%

Differences between library assistant and circulation desk assistant duties and responsibilities

Library assistant example responsibilities.

Organize and check in newly arrive reference materials, magazines, newspapers, and journals.
Assist with processing acquisitions, collection maintenance and development, retro- cataloging, copy cataloging.
Process and track inter-library loans and donations.
Set up user accounts and user rights in windows.
Process magazines and annual reports for the circulation department.
Re-Serve, circulate, check-in / check-out and renew books.

Circulation desk assistant example responsibilities.

Utilize computerized system for circulating books and DVDs.
Stack, sort, and insert ads into newspapers.
Assist in running equipment to bundle newspapers to be send out to carriers for delivery.
Assign and monitor computers to students; check books and DVDs in and out using a computerize system.
Perform regular cataloging of new acquisitions, maintaining accurate data building for microfilm, microfiche, periodicals, and academic collections.
Develop library collection materials for young adults including award-winning non-fiction and fiction titles.

Library assistant vs circulation desk assistant skills

Common library assistant skills

Customer Service, 16%
Library Materials, 15%
Circulation Desk, 7%
Library Patrons, 4%
Library Services, 4%
Library Resources, 3%

Common circulation desk assistant skills

Library Materials, 23%
Customer Service, 14%
Library Patrons, 6%
Library Resources, 6%
Front Desk, 5%
DVDs, 3%

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Library Assistant vs Circulation Desk Assistant

Updated January 8, 2025

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