Education, Training, and Library · Holland code CSI

Librarians and Media Collections Specialists

Administer and maintain libraries or collections of information, for public or private access through reference or borrowing. Work in a variety of settings, such as educational institutions, museums, and corporations, and with various types of informational materials, such as books, periodicals, recordings, films, and databases. Tasks may include acquiring, cataloging, and circulating library materials, and user services such as locating and organizing information, providing instruction on how to access information, and setting up and operating a library's media equipment.

Also called: Librarian, Library Media Specialist, Reference Librarian, University Librarian, Catalog Librarian, Cataloger, Reference and Instruction Librarian, Research Librarian.

O*NET 25-4022.00

At a glance

US median annual pay: $68,270; Middle half earn $56,310 to $84,480. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
Preparation needed: Job Zone 5 of 5; Extensive preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.
US employment outlook, 2024 to 2034: +2% · Slower than average; 142,100 jobs in 2024, projected 144,500. BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, which groups this with similar roles as "Librarians and library media specialists".

What the work involves

The tasks workers in this occupation rate as most important, from the O*NET survey.

Search standard reference materials, including online sources and the Internet, to answer patrons' reference questions.
Analyze patrons' requests to determine needed information and assist in furnishing or locating that information.
Supervise daily library operations, budgeting, planning, and personnel activities, such as hiring, training, scheduling, and performance evaluations.
Plan and teach classes on topics such as information literacy, library instruction, and technology use.
Code, classify, and catalog books, publications, films, audio-visual aids, and other library materials, based on subject matter or standard library classification systems.
Confer with colleagues, faculty, and community members and organizations to conduct informational programs, make collection decisions, and determine library services to offer.
Review and evaluate materials, using book reviews, catalogs, faculty recommendations, and current holdings to select and order print, audio-visual, and electronic resources.
Evaluate vendor products and performance, negotiate contracts, and place orders.

Skills and knowledge it leans on

Skills

Reading Comprehension4.1 / 5
Active Listening4.0 / 5
Speaking4.0 / 5
Writing3.6 / 5
Critical Thinking3.6 / 5
Monitoring3.3 / 5

Knowledge areas

English Language4.4 / 5
Customer and Personal Service4.4 / 5
Education and Training4.1 / 5
Computers and Electronics3.7 / 5
Administration and Management3.6 / 5
Administrative3.5 / 5

Importance ratings on O*NET’s 1 to 5 scale. Higher means the occupation depends on it more.

Who tends to enjoy it

How strongly this occupation draws on each of the six Holland interest types, which is the same profile the career interests test compares you against.

Realistic22
Investigative44
Artistic27
Social51
Enterprising29
Conventional81

The same work abroad

Other countries classify jobs differently, so these are the closest matches through the international ISCO-08 standard, not exact equivalents.

European occupation titles (ESCO)

library manager · DE Bibliotheksleiter/Bibliotheksleiterin · FR directeur de bibliothèque/directrice de bibliothèque
archivist · DE Archivar/Archivarin · FR archiviste
collection manager · DE Wissenschaftlicher Sammlungsmanager/Wissenschaftliche Sammlungsmanagerin · FR gestionnaire de collections
exhibition registrar · DE Museumsregistrar/Museumsregistrarin · FR régisseur des collections/régisseuse des collections
information manager · DE Informationsmanager/Informationsmanagerin · FR gestionnaire d’information
librarian · DE Bibliothekar/Bibliothekarin · FR bibliothécaire

Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)

Librarians (2471)30,700 employed
Senior officers in fire, ambulance, prison and related services (1163)8,000 employed
Library clerks and assistants (4135)24,000 employed

Employment is the UK Annual Population Survey for April 2025 to March 2026, all workers in the group, which can be broader than this one occupation.

Pay across Europe, for the whole group

Median annual earnings of all employees in “Professionals”. This is the broad ISCO group this occupation falls in, not the occupation itself, so treat it as context for the wage level, not as a salary for this job.

Median annual earnings, Professionals, by country
Country	Median pay
Belgium	€61,714
Germany	€59,529
Ireland	€56,877
Austria	€55,374
Netherlands	€53,595
Sweden	€43,567
France	€41,515
Spain	€35,735
Italy	€33,649
Portugal	€26,072
Poland	€14,380

Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey, businesses with ten or more employees outside public administration, in euro and not adjusted for the cost of living. Reference years differ between sources: the US, Japan and Europe figures on this page come from different survey years, so compare them as rough levels, not to the euro or yen.

Is it a fit for you?

Interest is one input, alongside ability, pay and what is hiring near you. The career interests test takes about thirteen minutes and ranks occupations by how closely their profile matches yours.

Take the career interests test