jobfacts

Library assistant

Library clerks and assistants — SOC 2020 4135

Library clerks and assistants classify, sort and file publications, documents, audio-visual and computerised material in libraries and offices.

Also calledInformation assistantLearning resource centre assistantAssistantLibrary shelving assistantCounter assistantPress cutting agentand 20 more titles
Typical full-time pay£28,1002025 Provisional
People in the job24,000across the UK
Demand for workersCritical
New adverts a month149↓ 8.8%on last year · 367th of 412

Pay

ONS · ASHE 2025
What full-time library assistants earn, 2025
£28,100 typical£23,900lowest 20%n/ptop 10%
n/p: top 10% not published by ONS
Show as table
Lowest 10% earn less thanNot published
Lowest 20% earn less than£23,900
25%£24,200
Median£28,100
75%Not published
Top 20% earn more thanNot published
Top 10% earn more thanNot published
Typical pay by regionUK median £28,100
South East!£31,700
Scotland!£30,100
London!£29,300
Yorkshire and The Humber!£27,800
North West!£26,800
West Midlands!£23,900
South West!£23,100
East of England!£20,700
North EastNot published by ONS–
East MidlandsNot published by ONS–
WalesNot published by ONS–
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
UK median, £28,100
South East£31,700 (small sample)
Scotland£30,100 (small sample)
London£29,300 (small sample)
Yorkshire and The Humber£27,800 (small sample)
North West£26,800 (small sample)
West Midlands£23,900 (small sample)
South West£23,100 (small sample)
East of England£20,700 (small sample)
North EastNot published by ONS
East MidlandsNot published by ONS
WalesNot published by ONS
Typical pay over 3 years
  • 2023 £23,200
  • 2024 £26,500
  • 2025 Provisional£28,100
↑ 21% since 2023Provisional figures are revised when ONS publishes the next year’s survey.

Jobs and demand

ONS · Textkernel adverts · DfE

About 149 jobs for library assistants are advertised each month. The Department for Education rates demand for workers as critical.

New job adverts a month, Jan 2017 to Aug 2026
New advertsMonth not published by ONS (3 in all)
Show as table
Aug 2026149
Jul 2026Not published
Jun 2026Not published
May 2026181
Apr 2026154
Mar 2026Not published
Feb 2026125
Jan 2026173
Dec 202559
Nov 2025160
Oct 2025151
Sept 2025189
Aug 2025180
Jul 2025192
Jun 2025198
May 2025176
Apr 2025164
Mar 2025174
Feb 2025151
Jan 2025166
Dec 202481
Nov 2024150
Oct 2024195
Sept 2024208
Aug 2024218
Jul 2024205
Jun 2024222
May 2024243
Apr 2024198
Mar 2024222
Feb 2024161
Jan 2024189
Dec 2023131
Nov 2023158
Oct 2023172
Sept 2023232
Aug 2023252
Jul 2023243
Jun 2023320
May 2023310
Apr 2023236
Mar 2023276
Feb 2023274
Jan 2023328
Dec 2022212
Nov 2022346
Oct 2022364
Sept 2022416
Aug 2022380
Jul 2022357
Jun 2022415
May 2022353
Apr 2022301
Mar 2022337
Feb 2022363
Jan 2022465
Dec 2021327
Nov 2021421
Oct 2021458
Sept 2021441
Aug 2021340
Jul 2021389
Jun 2021297
May 2021275
Apr 2021119
Mar 2021215
Feb 2021104
Jan 202185
Dec 2020116
Nov 2020131
Oct 2020137
Sept 2020166
Aug 2020124
Jul 202080
Jun 202054
May 202056
Apr 202077
Mar 2020165
Feb 2020227
Jan 2020256
Dec 2019120
Nov 2019212
Oct 2019236
Sept 2019252
Aug 2019249
Jul 2019245
Jun 2019273
May 2019248
Apr 2019219
Mar 2019211
Feb 2019193
Jan 2019271
Dec 2018157
Nov 2018243
Oct 2018222
Sept 2018229
Aug 2018231
Jul 2018222
Jun 2018307
May 2018230
Apr 2018189
Mar 2018246
Feb 2018251
Jan 2018279
Dec 2017129
Nov 2017218
Oct 2017229
Sept 2017257
Aug 2017247
Jul 2017205
Jun 2017266
May 2017271
Apr 2017238
Mar 2017305
Feb 2017243
Jan 2017244
Is there a shortage of library assistants?
Critical

The Department for Education rates demand as not high, elevated or critical, using five indicators. This is its 2025 assessment; in 2024 it was not high.

  • Visas grantedUsual
  • Online job advertsUsual
  • Wage growthWell above usual
  • Pay against similar jobsUsual
  • Hours workedWell above usual
Note: uncertain in multiple indicators: change in hourly wage, visa density.
Vacancies hard to fill because of skills
10%against 27% for all jobs
Broader groupFigure for administrative occupations: records, which includes library assistants. DfE Employer Skills Survey 2024.
Where the most jobs are advertisedadverts a quarter
London59
Birmingham11
Highland10
Cambridge8
Oxford8
Newcastle upon Tyne7
Renfrewshire7
Glasgow City6
Bristol, City of5
East Hampshire5
London is published as one area. Averages leave out quarters ONS withheld.
Where library assistants are most concentratedShare of local job adverts, compared with the UK.

Recruitment from abroad. Fewer than 10 sponsored work visas were granted for this job from July 2025 to June 2026. Home Office

Who does it

ONS · Annual Population Survey · April 2025 to March 2026
Age of library assistants
9.1%!
n/p
12%!
25%!
36%!
n/p
!Small sample: treat with cautionn/p: too few in the survey to publish
Show as table
16–249.1% (small sample)
25–34Not published
35–4412% (small sample)
45–5425% (small sample)
55–6436% (small sample)
65+Not published
Highest qualification
Degree or equivalent71%
Higher education below degree!6.8%
A levels or equivalent!13%
GCSEs or equivalent!11%
No qualifications–
Not published
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
Degree or equivalent71%
Higher education below degree6.8% (small sample)
A levels or equivalent13% (small sample)
GCSEs or equivalent11% (small sample)
No qualificationsNot published

Main employers: library and archive activities (53%), tertiary education (15%), general public administration activities (13%), activities of professional membership organisations (8.8%).

How to get in

Hold a degree
71%
as their highest qualification
Apprenticeships
1
from level 3
Apprenticeships take
18 months
typically

Routes in

You can get into this job through:

Apprenticeship

You could apply to do a Library, Information and Archive Services Assistant Level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship, with a library service or an organisation like a college or university.

This typically takes between 1 and 2 years to complete and is a mix of workplace learning and off-site study.

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths, for an advanced apprenticeship

Volunteering

You could gain experience of working in a library through volunteering, or as a casual assistant, in a local authority or community library. This could give you an advantage when applying for jobs.

You can also find opportunities through sites like:

  • The National Council for Voluntary Organisations
  • Do IT

Apply directly

You can apply for a job as a library assistant if you have some experience of working in a library, archive or information service, for example as a volunteer.

You may need GCSEs grades 9 to 4 (A* to C) or equivalent, including maths and English, to apply.

Experience working in an administration, customer services or IT role will also be useful for applying directly.

For some assistant jobs, for example in industrial or commercial libraries, you may need qualifications at A level standard or higher. You may also need specialist knowledge, like a language or science, depending on the nature of the job.

What you’ll need

  • pass enhanced background checks

Registration and professional bodies

Career tips

A knowledge of information classification systems, like the Dewey Decimal Classification, may be useful, though not essential, as training will be given when you start.

Further information

You can find more details about library careers from the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP).

Routes in are from the National Careers Service job profile for library assistant. Contains public sector information from the National Careers Service licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Apprenticeships

1 for this job
Level 3About 18 months

Library, information and archive services assistant

Leads to
Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals
Details on Skills England

© Skills England 2025. This information is licensed under the Open Government Licence https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/

The work

ONS · ESCO · O*NET

Typical tasks

  • sorts, catalogues and maintains library records
  • locates and retrieves material on request for borrowers
  • issues library material and records date of issue/ due date for return
  • classifies, labels and indexes new books
  • performs simple repairs on old books

Skills

  • analyse library users' queries
  • assess informational needs
  • classify library materials
  • display library material
  • instruct library users
  • maintain library equipment
  • maintain library inventory
  • manage library users queries
  • organise information
  • organise library material
  • provide library information
  • apply for library funding
  • assist in library facility planning
  • buy new library items

Knowledge

  • copyright legislation
  • collection management
  • literature

Suits people who like

  • Organising and following procedures
  • Helping and caring for people

Outlook

DfE · Skills Imperative 2035
Broader groupThese projections are for administrative occupations, a group of 20 jobs that includes library assistants.
Change in jobs, 2020 to 2035↓ 12%about 381,000 fewer jobs
Workers needed by 20351 millionincluding people replacing those who retire or leave

Sources

Pay
ONS, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, 2025 provisional
People in the job, who does it
ONS, Annual Population Survey, April 2025 to March 2026
Job adverts
ONS, online job adverts (Textkernel), to Aug 2026
Demand, skill shortages
Department for Education and Skills England, Occupations in demand and the Employer Skills Survey
Outlook
The Skills Imperative 2035 (2024), NFER/Nuffield/DfE/IER/CE
Routes in
National Careers Service job profiles
Apprenticeships, qualifications
Skills England occupational maps
Skills, interests
ESCO classification of the European Commission; O*NET data, U.S. Department of Labor (CC BY 4.0, modified)
Visas
Home Office, immigration system statistics

Figures as of 10 October 2026.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Occupations in demand and the Employer Skills Survey: Department for Education and Skills England. Immigration system statistics: Home Office. Contains public sector information from the National Careers Service licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

© Skills England 2025. This information is licensed under the Open Government Licence https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/

Source: The Skills Imperative 2035 (2024), NFER/Nuffield/DfE/IER/CE.

This service uses the ESCO classification of the European Commission.

This service includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. This service has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. CC BY 4.0 licence.

jobfacts is independent. It is not part of, affiliated with or endorsed by the Office for National Statistics, the Department for Education, Skills England, the National Careers Service, the Home Office, the European Commission or the U.S. Department of Labor.