Library specialist vs book shelver

The differences between library specialists and book shelvers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a book shelver has an average salary of $43,471, which is higher than the $32,884 average annual salary of a library specialist.

The top three skills for a library specialist include library materials, library services and library resources. The most important skills for a book shelver are dewey decimal system, library materials, and front desk.

Library specialist vs book shelver overview

	Library Specialist	Book Shelver
Yearly salary	$32,884	$43,471
Hourly rate	$15.81	$20.90
Growth rate	-4%	-4%
Number of jobs	19,984	186
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 62%	Bachelor's Degree, 34%
Average age	47	50
Years of experience	-	12

Library specialist vs book shelver salary

Library specialists and book shelvers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Library Specialist	Book Shelver
Average salary	$32,884	$43,471
Salary range	Between $24,000 And $43,000	Between $21,000 And $88,000
Highest paying City	Berkeley, CA	-
Highest paying state	Washington	-
Best paying company	Brown University	-
Best paying industry	Education	-

Differences between library specialist and book shelver education

There are a few differences between a library specialist and a book shelver in terms of educational background:

	Library Specialist	Book Shelver
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 62%	Bachelor's Degree, 34%
Most common major	English	General Studies
Most common college	New York University	Washington Adventist Hospital

Library specialist vs book shelver demographics

Here are the differences between library specialists' and book shelvers' demographics:

	Library Specialist	Book Shelver
Average age	47	50
Gender ratio	Male, 31.6% Female, 68.4%	Male, 44.4% Female, 55.6%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 11.0% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 14.5% Asian, 5.8% White, 63.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%	Black or African American, 8.9% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 14.1% Asian, 7.9% White, 62.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%
LGBT Percentage	11%	11%

Differences between library specialist and book shelver duties and responsibilities

Library specialist example responsibilities.

Search, edit, and incorporate new OCLC catalog records into OPAC.
Access and search OCLC for bibliographic records to copy catalog and process new materials.
Derive original cataloging and edit existing cataloging records following local and national standards.
Participate in group tasks as needed, including original and copy cataloging, inventory and staff development workshops
Convert documents to HTML for submission to the on line library.
Correct HTML, CSS, and Javascript relate programming errors on student websites.

Book shelver example responsibilities.

Repair books (binding, covers etc ...) before send out.
Provide cataloging services, including indexing, assigning metadata, classification and subject heading application using the standard thesaurus of terms.
Provide cataloging services, including indexing, assigning metadata, classification and subject heading application using the standard thesaurus of terms.

Library specialist vs book shelver skills

Common library specialist skills

Library Materials, 12%
Library Services, 9%
Library Resources, 5%
Library Policies, 5%
University Libraries, 5%
Electronic Resources, 4%

Common book shelver skills

Dewey Decimal System, 37%
Library Materials, 35%
Front Desk, 28%

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Updated January 8, 2025

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