Library specialist vs library acquisitions technician

The differences between library specialists and library acquisitions technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a library acquisitions technician has an average salary of $39,329, which is higher than the $32,884 average annual salary of a library specialist.

Library specialist vs library acquisitions technician overview

	Library Specialist	Library Acquisitions Technician
Yearly salary	$32,884	$39,329
Hourly rate	$15.81	$18.91
Growth rate	-4%	-4%
Number of jobs	19,984	6,772
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 62%	Bachelor's Degree, 57%
Average age	47	50
Years of experience	-	12

Library specialist vs library acquisitions technician salary

Library specialists and library acquisitions technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Library Specialist	Library Acquisitions Technician
Average salary	$32,884	$39,329
Salary range	Between $24,000 And $43,000	Between $25,000 And $61,000
Highest paying City	Berkeley, CA	-
Highest paying state	Washington	-
Best paying company	Brown University	-
Best paying industry	Education	-

Differences between library specialist and library acquisitions technician education

There are a few differences between a library specialist and a library acquisitions technician in terms of educational background:

	Library Specialist	Library Acquisitions Technician
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 62%	Bachelor's Degree, 57%
Most common major	English	Biology
Most common college	New York University	Duke University

Library specialist vs library acquisitions technician demographics

Here are the differences between library specialists' and library acquisitions technicians' demographics:

	Library Specialist	Library Acquisitions Technician
Average age	47	50
Gender ratio	Male, 31.6% Female, 68.4%	Male, 30.8% Female, 69.2%
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, 6.3% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 11.0% Asian, 5.2% White, 71.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%
LGBT Percentage	11%	11%

Differences between library specialist and library acquisitions technician 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.

Library acquisitions technician example responsibilities.

Provide cataloging services, including indexing, assigning metadata, classification and subject heading application using the standard thesaurus of terms.
Search for items that need weeding, relabeling or OPAC record updates.

Library specialist vs library acquisitions technician skills

Common library specialist skills

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

Common library acquisitions technician skills

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Library Specialist vs Library Acquisitions Technician

Updated January 8, 2025

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