How To Become A Library Paraprofessional: What It Is and Career Path

What is a library paraprofessional and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a library paraprofessional. For example, did you know that they make an average of $16.8 an hour? That's $34,937 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow -4% and produce -6,400 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreLibrary ParaprofessionalUS Average

Salary

2.7

Avg. Salary $34,937

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

4.9

Growth rate -4%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

6.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.77%

Asian 5.43%

Black or African American 7.48%

Hispanic or Latino 15.23%

Unknown 4.79%

White 66.30%

Gender

female 84.48%

male 15.52%

Age - 49

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 - 49

Stress level

4.9

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

3.7

Complexity level is basic

7 - challenging

Work life balance

10.0

Work life balance is excellent

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a library paraprofessional

Explore library paraprofessional education requirements

Most common library paraprofessional degrees

Bachelor's

56.0 %

Associate

22.0 %

Master's

11.0 %

Start to develop specific library paraprofessional skills

Skills	Percentages
Paraprofessional	44.70%
Library Resources	13.91%
AV	12.13%
Library Books	7.85%
Circulation Desk	2.55%

Complete relevant library paraprofessional training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New library paraprofessionals 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 a library paraprofessional based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real library paraprofessional resumes.

Research library paraprofessional duties and responsibilities

Review new materials for conformity of cataloging specifications and report errors.
Develop system to streamline classroom media requests resulting in more efficient distribution of materials.
Assess and discard non-fiction collections as assigned.

Prepare your library paraprofessional resume

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

Choose from 10+ customizable library paraprofessional resume templates

Build a professional library paraprofessional 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 library paraprofessional resume.