Library technician vs library acquisitions technician

The differences between library technicians and library acquisitions technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-12 months to become both a library technician and a library acquisitions technician. Additionally, a library acquisitions technician has an average salary of $39,329, which is higher than the $37,757 average annual salary of a library technician.

Library technician vs library acquisitions technician overview

	Library Technician	Library Acquisitions Technician
Yearly salary	$37,757	$39,329
Hourly rate	$18.15	$18.91
Growth rate	-4%	-4%
Number of jobs	24,941	6,772
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 59%	Bachelor's Degree, 57%
Average age	50	50
Years of experience	12	12

Library technician vs library acquisitions technician salary

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

	Library Technician	Library Acquisitions Technician
Average salary	$37,757	$39,329
Salary range	Between $29,000 And $48,000	Between $25,000 And $61,000
Highest paying City	Washington, DC	-
Highest paying state	Alaska	-
Best paying company	Syracuse University	-
Best paying industry	Government	-

Differences between library technician and library acquisitions technician education

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

	Library Technician	Library Acquisitions Technician
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 59%	Bachelor's Degree, 57%
Most common major	Business	Biology
Most common college	New York University	Duke University

Library technician vs library acquisitions technician demographics

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

	Library Technician	Library Acquisitions Technician
Average age	50	50
Gender ratio	Male, 34.1% Female, 65.9%	Male, 30.8% Female, 69.2%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.5% Unknown, 5.5% Hispanic or Latino, 14.7% Asian, 5.3% White, 64.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%	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 technician and library acquisitions technician duties and responsibilities

Library technician example 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.
Work with supervisors, coworkers, and patrons to resolve questions and troubleshoot both electronic and physical item requests.
Install, configure, troubleshoot laser scanners, RFID readers and antennas, sensors, detectors, actuators, payment systems.

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 technician vs library acquisitions technician skills

Common library technician skills

Library Services, 6%
Data Entry, 6%
Circulation Desk, 5%
Customer Service, 5%
Library System, 4%
Library Patrons, 4%

Common library acquisitions technician skills

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Library Technician vs Library Acquisitions Technician

Updated January 8, 2025

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