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Library clerical assistant vs reference assistant

The differences between library clerical assistants and reference assistants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a library clerical assistant has an average salary of $35,093, which is higher than the $27,874 average annual salary of a reference assistant.

The top three skills for a library clerical assistant include front desk, professional assistance and routine inquiries. The most important skills for a reference assistant are library materials, library patrons, and interlibrary loan.

Library clerical assistant vs reference assistant overview

Library Clerical AssistantReference Assistant
Yearly salary$35,093$27,874
Hourly rate$16.87$13.40
Growth rate-4%-4%
Number of jobs2,437658
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 51%Bachelor's Degree, 76%
Average age4747
Years of experience--

Library clerical assistant vs reference assistant salary

Library clerical assistants and reference assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.

Library Clerical AssistantReference Assistant
Average salary$35,093$27,874
Salary rangeBetween $26,000 And $46,000Between $21,000 And $36,000
Highest paying City--
Highest paying state--
Best paying company--
Best paying industry--

Differences between library clerical assistant and reference assistant education

There are a few differences between a library clerical assistant and a reference assistant in terms of educational background:

Library Clerical AssistantReference Assistant
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 51%Bachelor's Degree, 76%
Most common majorPsychologyEnglish
Most common collegeStanford UniversityNew York University

Library clerical assistant vs reference assistant demographics

Here are the differences between library clerical assistants' and reference assistants' demographics:

Library Clerical AssistantReference Assistant
Average age4747
Gender ratioMale, 28.3% Female, 71.7%Male, 32.3% Female, 67.7%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 9.5% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 15.7% Asian, 5.9% White, 63.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%Black or African American, 10.4% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 14.5% Asian, 6.4% White, 63.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%
LGBT Percentage11%11%

Differences between library clerical assistant and reference assistant duties and responsibilities

Library clerical assistant example responsibilities.

  • Help troubleshoot technology relate issues.
  • Retrieve and copy medical information for staff and patrons for medical books and CD-ROM system.
  • Assess and discard non-fiction collections as assigned.

Reference assistant example responsibilities.

  • Construct and manage subject LibGuides.
  • Manage yearly budget for DVDs.
  • Search for and retrieve cases from online databases such as Westlaw and Lexis-Nexis.
  • Prepare library libguides and bibliographies on various areas of law.
  • Train fellow staff members in inter-library loan procedures and online database, OCLC.
  • Process requests for journal articles and books from RapidILL, OCLC, and DOCLINE.
  • Show more

Library clerical assistant vs reference assistant skills

Common library clerical assistant skills
  • Front Desk, 16%
  • Professional Assistance, 12%
  • Routine Inquiries, 10%
  • Library Equipment, 9%
  • AV, 9%
  • Word Processing, 8%
Common reference assistant skills
  • Library Materials, 8%
  • Library Patrons, 7%
  • Interlibrary Loan, 6%
  • Reference Desk, 6%
  • Reference Services, 6%
  • Library Resources, 5%

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