How To Become A Special Collections Librarian: What It Is and Career Path

What is a special collections librarian and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a special collections librarian. For example, did you know that they make an average of $25.55 an hour? That's $53,149 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 6% and produce 8,500 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreSpecial Collections LibrarianUS Average

Salary

4.2

Avg. Salary $53,149

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

5.6

Growth rate 6%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

2.5

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.33%

Asian 4.99%

Black or African American 6.60%

Hispanic or Latino 7.95%

Unknown 3.60%

White 76.52%

Gender

female 58.04%

male 41.96%

Age - 48

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 - 48

Stress level

5.6

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

5.6

Complexity level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work life balance

9.5

Work life balance is excellent

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a special collections librarian

Explore special collections librarian education requirements

Most common special collections librarian degrees

Bachelor's

45.9 %

Master's

20.3 %

Associate

14.9 %

Start to develop specific special collections librarian skills

Skills	Percentages
Customer Accounts	27.17%
Collection Development	11.88%
Outbound Calls	10.35%
Problem Accounts	8.89%
Collection Efforts	7.92%

Complete relevant special collections librarian training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New special collections librarians 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 special collections librarian based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real special collections librarian resumes.

Research special collections librarian duties and responsibilities

Achieve proficiency cataloging electronic materials (audio records, video recordings, and streaming video) and continuing resources/serials.
Check in new journals in the database.
Provide reference and interlibrary loan services and instruct users on use of computers, database tools for research at the library.
Coordinate and prioritize cataloging and metadata for SC materials.

Prepare your special collections librarian resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your special collections librarian 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 special collections librarian resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable special collections librarian resume templates

Build a professional special collections librarian 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 special collections librarian resume.