Career Explorer Education
Changing shape
Library technicians
Assist librarians by helping readers in the use of library catalogs, databases, and indexes to locate books and other materials; and by answering questions that require only brief consultation of standard reference. Compile records; sort and shelve books or other media; remove or repair damaged books or other media; register patrons; and check materials in and out of the circulation process. Replace materials in shelving area (stacks) or files. Includes bookmobile drivers who assist with providing services in mobile libraries.
Among the careers AI is changing fastest: more resilient than 8% of the 831 careers we score. AI exposure is high (the Bureau of Labor Statistics rates it very high), and US jobs are projected to change by -6.4% by 2035, expected to shrink.
AI can do many of the tasks, and hiring is expected to grow slower than average or to shrink. The job is likely to change, so build the human parts of it.
- Median pay (2025)
- $44,580
- Job growth to 2035
- -6.4%
- Openings a year
- 10,800
- People doing it (2025)
- 72,800
- Usual route in
- College certificate
Where people already use AI for this work
- Perform administrative or clerical activities
- Provide information or assistance to the public
- Provide general assistance to others, such as customers, patrons, or motorists
From Microsoft Research, Working with AI (2025).
Work AI rarely helps with
- Maintain operational records
- Distribute materials, supplies, or resources
- Train others on operational or work procedures
What the work looks like
- Reserve, circulate, renew, and discharge books and other materials.
- Answer routine telephone or in-person reference inquiries, referring patrons to librarians for further assistance, when necessary.
- Help patrons find and use library resources, such as reference materials, audio-visual equipment, computers, and other electronic resources and provide technical assistance when needed.
- Deliver and retrieve items throughout the library by hand or using pushcart.
- Process print and non-print library materials to prepare them for inclusion in library collections.
From O*NET 31.0, US Department of Labor.
What the Bureau of Labor Statistics expects
- Fewer of these jobs, as library usage declines, resulting in reduced need for library technicians.
Careers using similar strengths, with a stronger outlook
- Library assistants, clericalChanging shape, Index 12, -6.4%
- Couriers and messengersHuman edge, growing, Index 66, +8.0%
- Legal secretaries and administrative assistantsChanging shape, Index 9, -5.2%
- Gambling and sports book writers and runnersChanging shape, Index 26, +1.8%
Also known as: Library Assistant, Library Associate, Library Technical Assistant (LTA), Library Technician, Circulation Clerk, Library Aide, Library Clerk, Library Media Technician.
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Sources: US Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections 2025 to 2035; O*NET 31.0; Microsoft Research (2025); Anthropic Economic Index (2026); Eloundou and colleagues (Science, 2024); Felten, Raj and Seamans (2023). How we score. Updated 12 October 2026.