What Does a Library Technician Do?
New books arrive in technical services with no barcode, no spine label and no catalog record, and a library technician adds all three. Technicians in public, academic and special libraries also order books and journals, check in new issues and fix catalog records so every item can be found.
Also known as: Library Associate, Library Specialist, Senior Library Specialist
Library Technician Duties and Responsibilities
The primary responsibilities of a library technician include:
- Import and edit catalog records from OCLC WorldShare for new books and media.
- Place orders with vendors, track invoices and receive shipments against purchase orders.
- Check in journal issues, claim missing ones and route them for binding.
- Process new items with labels, barcodes, security strips and protective covers.
- Fix catalog errors, such as wrong call numbers, missing holdings or duplicate records.
- Handle interlibrary loan requests, searching other libraries and shipping items out.
- Withdraw damaged or outdated items and update the catalog to match.
- Answer basic reference questions and show patrons how to search databases.
- Digitize photos and documents for special collections, adding descriptive metadata.
- Supervise library assistants and student workers on processing projects.
Required Skills and Qualifications
To succeed as a library technician, you will need the following skills and qualifications:
- Cataloging standards: MARC, RDA and Library of Congress classification
- OCLC WorldShare or Connexion
- Alma, Sierra or another integrated library system
- Close attention to detail in records
- Acquisitions and invoice processing
- Scanning and basic digitization
- Patient reference help
- Steady focus on repetitive, precise work
Education and Training
A postsecondary certificate in library technology is the typical entry education, according to BLS, and many employers accept an associate degree in its place. Plenty of technicians start as library assistants and move up once they know the catalog. Senior technician and supervisor posts come with time, and librarian jobs open up to those who add a master's in library science.
Salary and Job Outlook
Typical pay: $35,740 - $52,430 per year, with a median of $44,580.
The range covers the middle half of earners nationwide. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, Library Technicians.
According to BLS projections, employment of library technicians will fall about 6 percent from 2025 to 2035. Retirements and job changes should still create roughly 10,800 openings a year. Technicians who can catalog, digitize and handle electronic resources are more likely to find work, given that print processing keeps shrinking.
Outlook source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections, 2025 to 2035, Library technicians.