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.
A wage reference for United States.
Published wage percentiles describe a distribution within the source occupation group. They provide context for a career decision; employer packages and job offers have their own terms.
This wage group may include multiple detailed occupations. The figures are for the source group, which may be broader than Librarians and Media Collections Specialists. They are not an exact-title, employer, experience or seniority match.
May 2025 · USD · United States. Annual and hourly figures are shown only when the source publishes them; neither is calculated from the other.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics occupational wage data, distributed through the O*NET® OnLine service.
Annual wage thresholds
USD per year
Hourly wage thresholds
USD per hour
| Percentile | Annual wage (USD/year) | Hourly wage (USD/hour) |
|---|---|---|
| 10th | $43,660 | $20.99 |
| 25th | $56,310 | $27.07 |
| 50th · Median | $68,270 | $32.82 |
| 75th | $84,480 | $40.62 |
| 90th | $103,990 | $50.00 |
“≥” means at least the published amount; “≤” means at most that amount. These are bounds, not exact values. “Not published” means the source did not provide that figure. Occupational wages follow the source definition and do not establish an employer’s base salary, equity or total compensation.
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What this career involves.
Occupation definitions describe common work. Responsibilities and requirements vary by employer and specific job.
Selected title examples
Expand more title examples (41)
Typical tasks
- 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.
Expand more tasks (24)
- 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.
- Direct and train library staff in duties, such as receiving, shelving, researching, cataloging, and equipment use.
- Arrange for interlibrary loans of materials not available in a particular library.
- Teach library patrons basic computer skills, such as searching computerized databases.
- Check books in and out of the library.
- Keep up-to-date records of circulation and materials, maintain inventory, and correct cataloging errors.
- Locate unusual or unique information in response to specific requests.
- Explain use of library facilities, resources, equipment, and services, and provide information about library policies.
- Develop, maintain, and troubleshoot information access aids, such as databases, annotated bibliographies, Web pages, electronic pathfinders, software programs, and online tutorials.
- Develop library policies and procedures.
- Respond to customer complaints, taking action as necessary.
- Engage in professional development activities, such as taking continuing education classes and attending or participating in conferences, workshops, professional meetings, and associations.
- Plan and deliver client-centered programs and services, such as special services for corporate clients, storytelling for children, newsletters, or programs for special groups.
- Confer with teachers to select course materials and to determine which training aids are best suited to particular grade levels.
- Represent library or institution on internal and external committees.
- Maintain hardware and software, including computers, media equipment, scanners, color copiers, and color laser printers.
- Evaluate materials to determine outdated or unused items to be discarded.
- Compile lists of books, periodicals, articles, and audio-visual materials on particular subjects.
- Train faculty and media staff on the use of software and audio-visual equipment.
- Maintain inventory of audio-visual equipment.
- Assemble and arrange display materials.
- Troubleshoot problems with audio-visual equipment.
- Set up, adjust, and operate audio-visual equipment, such as cameras, film and slide projectors, and recording equipment, for meetings, events, classes, seminars, and video conferences.
Skills used in this work
- Reading Comprehension
- Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Active Listening
- Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Speaking
- Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Critical Thinking
- Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Writing
- Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Service Orientation
- Actively looking for ways to help people.
Expand more skills (29)
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Monitoring
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Social Perceptiveness
- Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Active Learning
- Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Instructing
- Teaching others how to do something.
- Complex Problem Solving
- Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Coordination
- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Learning Strategies
- Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
- Time Management
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Management of Personnel Resources
- Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
- Management of Financial Resources
- Determining how money will be spent to get the work done, and accounting for these expenditures.
- Management of Material Resources
- Obtaining and seeing to the appropriate use of equipment, facilities, and materials needed to do certain work.
- Negotiation
- Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
- Persuasion
- Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
- Systems Analysis
- Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
- Systems Evaluation
- Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
- Mathematics
- Using mathematics to solve problems.
- Operations Analysis
- Analyzing needs and product requirements to create a design.
- Programming
- Writing computer programs for various purposes.
- Quality Control Analysis
- Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
- Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
- Technology Design
- Generating or adapting equipment and technology to serve user needs.
- Operation and Control
- Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
- Troubleshooting
- Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.
- Equipment Maintenance
- Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed.
- Equipment Selection
- Determining the kind of tools and equipment needed to do a job.
- Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the needed tools.
- Installation
- Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or programs to meet specifications.
- Science
- Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.
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