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Librarians

Librarians appraise, obtain, index, collate and make available library acquisitions and organise and control other library services.

Wages

New workers
AVERAGE
Experienced
£12,610
£23,142
£40,770

New workers start around £12,610. Normal pay is £23,142 per year.
Highly experienced workers can earn up to £40,770.

Available jobs

In the past year there were 18,602 vacancies for this type of job

4.20%

Projected job growth over the next 8 years

Related courses

People work towards these careers by taking these courses at college and uni.

What they do most days?

  • Provides learning and cultural experiences through events such as author talks, reading groups, formal and informal teaching.

  • Promotes library services through displays and talks.

  • Manages library borrowing and inter-library loan facilities.

  • Establishes information storage systems to deal with queries and to maintain up to date records.

  • Identifies the information needs of clients, seeks out and evaluates information sources.

  • Prepares and circulates abstracts, bibliographies, book lists, etc..

  • Collects, classifies and catalogues information, books and other material.

  • Selects and arranges for the acquisition of books, periodicals, audio-visual and other material.

Hard Skills

Hard skills are specific, learnable, measurable, often industry or occupation-specific abilities related to a position.

Skills are ranked based on the number of job adverts that list them as required skills.

  • Library Services

  • Library

  • Integrated Library Systems

  • Library Management

  • Numeracy

  • Marketing

  • Loans

  • Continuous Improvement Process

  • Service Development

  • Archives

Soft Skills

Soft skills can be self-taught and usually do not necessitate a certain completed level of education.

Skills are ranked based on the number of job adverts that list them as required skills.

  • Communication

  • Management

  • Teaching

  • Research

  • Customer Service

  • Collections

  • Leadership

  • English Language

  • Innovation

  • Literacy

How do I get a job like this?

People in these types of job started their career paths after studying courses like the ones below.

Routes to this career

See all

Classics

Birkbeck, University of London

BA (Hons) · 4 Years · Part-time · London · 10/2025

Tariff points: N/A

Liberal Arts (with Placement Year)

St Mary's University, Twickenham

BA (Hons) · 4 Years · Full-time with year in industry · Twickenham · 15/09/2025

Tariff points: 96/112

English Literature

University of Huddersfield

BA (Hons) · 3 Years · Full-time · Huddersfield · 22/09/2025

Tariff points: 104/120

English Literature

Leeds Beckett University

BA (Hons) · 6 Years · Part-time · Leeds · 15/09/2025

Tariff points: 112/120

English Literatures

University of Wolverhampton

BA (Hons) · 3 Years · Full-time · Wolverhampton · 09/2025

Tariff points: 96/96

English Literature

University of Winchester

BA (Hons) · 3 Years · Full-time · Winchester · 22/09/2025

Tariff points: 104/120

English Literature

York St John University

BA (Hons) · 3 Years · Full-time · York · 22/09/2025

Tariff points: 104/104

Comparative Literature

King's College London, University of London

BA (Hons) · 3 Years · Full-time · London · 29/09/2025

Tariff points: N/A

English Literature

Edge Hill University

BA (Hons) · 3 Years · Full-time · Ormskirk · 09/2025

Tariff points: 112/120

English

University of Northampton

BA (Hons) · 3 Years · Full-time · Northampton · 22/09/2025

Tariff points: 112/112

English Literature

University of Central Lancashire

BA (Hons) · 3 Years · Full-time · Preston · 22/09/2025

Tariff points: 104/112

Liberal Arts with Year Abroad

Queen Mary University of London

BA (Hons) · 4 Years · Full-time with time abroad · London · 15/09/2025

Tariff points: N/A

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