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

What is a library technician and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Library technicians might work in schools or government agencies, public or academic libraries operating databases and tools that make the organization of books and other items manageable.

As a library technician, you will work under the supervision of a librarian. Your job will be to keep library material in order, assist library visitors, and re-shelf books and other items when returned.

You will also be expected to perform clerical tasks, file documents, answer emails or inquiries over the phone. Working in a library is for people who enjoy calm and quiet working environments. You can typically count on days with low-stress levels, and even if you do get worked up, shouting will not be the way to let steam out.

ScoreLibrary TechnicianUS Average

Salary

2.9

Avg. Salary $37,757

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.1

Growth rate -4%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

4.8

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.87%

Asian 5.33%

Black or African American 9.45%

Hispanic or Latino 14.67%

Unknown 5.48%

White 64.19%

Gender

female 65.93%

male 34.07%

Age - 54

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 - 54

Stress level

6.1

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

5.5

Complexity level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work life balance

8.9

Work life balance is excellent

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a library technician

Explore library technician education requirements

Most common library technician degrees

Bachelor's

58.9 %

Associate

20.4 %

Master's

10.5 %

Start to develop specific library technician skills

Skills	Percentages
Library Services	5.61%
Data Entry	5.57%
Circulation Desk	5.03%
Customer Service	4.83%
Library System	4.34%

Complete relevant library technician training and internships

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

Research library technician duties and responsibilities

Cataloge library materials using OCLC to be add to collection, and repair damaged materials.
Process books and serials in Sydney (ILS).
Enter new patron records into the ILS.
Process incoming serials and maintain serial records and archives.

Prepare your library technician resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your library technician 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 technician 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 technician resume templates

Build a professional library technician 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 technician resume.

Apply for library technician jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a library technician job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do library technicians rate their job?

-/5

5 stars

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1 star

Library technician reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Sep 2020

Cons

all the schooling and all the paper work involved

A zippia user wrote a review on Oct 2019

Pros

pay Invoice on spreadsheet , sort open shipment from Baker Taylor warehouse , process books and DVD , put new barcode and labels on all books and av material