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Periodicals library assistant vs reference assistant

The differences between periodicals library assistants and reference assistants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a periodicals library assistant has an average salary of $34,596, which is higher than the $27,874 average annual salary of a reference assistant.

The top three skills for a periodicals library assistant include newspapers, magazines and student assistants. The most important skills for a reference assistant are library materials, library patrons, and interlibrary loan.

Periodicals library assistant vs reference assistant overview

Periodicals Library AssistantReference Assistant
Yearly salary$34,596$27,874
Hourly rate$16.63$13.40
Growth rate-4%-4%
Number of jobs1,044658
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 68%Bachelor's Degree, 76%
Average age4747
Years of experience--

Periodicals library assistant vs reference assistant salary

Periodicals library assistants and reference assistants have different pay scales, as shown below.

Periodicals Library AssistantReference Assistant
Average salary$34,596$27,874
Salary rangeBetween $26,000 And $45,000Between $21,000 And $36,000
Highest paying City--
Highest paying state--
Best paying company--
Best paying industry--

Differences between periodicals library assistant and reference assistant education

There are a few differences between a periodicals library assistant and a reference assistant in terms of educational background:

Periodicals Library AssistantReference Assistant
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 68%Bachelor's Degree, 76%
Most common majorEnglishEnglish
Most common collegeStanford UniversityNew York University

Periodicals library assistant vs reference assistant demographics

Here are the differences between periodicals library assistants' and reference assistants' demographics:

Periodicals Library AssistantReference Assistant
Average age4747
Gender ratioMale, 38.1% Female, 61.9%Male, 32.3% Female, 67.7%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 9.2% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 14.8% Asian, 6.6% White, 63.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%Black or African American, 10.4% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 14.5% Asian, 6.4% White, 63.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%
LGBT Percentage11%11%

Differences between periodicals library assistant and reference assistant duties and responsibilities

Periodicals library assistant example responsibilities.

  • Perform elementary descriptive cataloging using automate bibliographic database.
  • Perform elementary descriptive cataloging using automate bibliographic database.

Reference assistant example responsibilities.

  • Construct and manage subject LibGuides.
  • Manage yearly budget for DVDs.
  • Search for and retrieve cases from online databases such as Westlaw and Lexis-Nexis.
  • Prepare library libguides and bibliographies on various areas of law.
  • Train fellow staff members in inter-library loan procedures and online database, OCLC.
  • Process requests for journal articles and books from RapidILL, OCLC, and DOCLINE.
  • Show more

Periodicals library assistant vs reference assistant skills

Common periodicals library assistant skills
  • Newspapers, 34%
  • Magazines, 23%
  • Student Assistants, 13%
  • Library Materials, 10%
  • Word Processing, 7%
  • PowerPoint, 6%
Common reference assistant skills
  • Library Materials, 8%
  • Library Patrons, 7%
  • Interlibrary Loan, 6%
  • Reference Desk, 6%
  • Reference Services, 6%
  • Library Resources, 5%

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