Librarians and Media Collections Specialists
Career Cluster
Education and Training
Focuses on teaching, training, and services to help students learn. This field includes careers like teacher, special education aid, and principal.
Learn more about this clusterAt a glance
Expected pay range
Expected pay range
This represents the median earnings for this career in the selected county or state. In the range shown, 25% of workers earned less than the bottom salary and 25% earned more than the top salary. Data is provided by the Texas Workforce Commission.
Monthly cost of living
These numbers give you an idea of how much you can spend each month on common expenses with this salary. Percentages are the average a person with no children spends according to data collected by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. (external link opens new tab) These numbers are a starting point and will differ person to person.
Your actual expenses may differ from those listed. You’ll need to account for the amount taken out in taxes each month. Learn more about income tax expenses. (external link opens new tab) Your student loan payments may also differ. To calculate your student loan payments, use the federal student loan repayment estimator. (external link opens new tab)
About librarians and media collections specialists
What they do
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.
Other titles
Catalog Librarian, Instructional Technology Specialist, Librarian, Library Media Specialist, Media Specialist, Media Technician, Multimedia Services Coordinator, Reference and Instruction Librarian, Reference Librarian, Technical Services Librarian
Skills they need
- 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.
- Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- 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.
- Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Service Orientation - Actively looking for ways to help people.
- Active Learning - Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Instructing - Teaching others how to do something.
- Judgment and Decision Making - Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Time Management - Managing one's own time and the time of others.
Licenses and Certifications they may hold
How to decide which one is right? That depends on an individual’s career path, specialty, and resources.
Certifications
Certifications may be available for this career and can help build knowledge and skills in specific job roles. Explore available certifications (external link opens new tab)
Similar careers
View careers in the same field as librarians and media collections specialists.
Social Science Research Assistants
Assist social scientists in laboratory, survey, and other social science research. May help prepare findings for publication and assist in laboratory analysis, quality control, or data management.
Database Administrators
Better pay
Median salary for this career is higher than the median salary of all careers in the county selected. Salary data is provided by the Texas Workforce Commission.
Administer, test, and implement computer databases, applying knowledge of database management systems. Coordinate changes to computer databases. Identify, investigate, and resolve database performance issues, database capacity, and database scalability. May plan, coordinate, and implement security measures to safeguard computer databases.
Library Science Teachers, Postsecondary
Better pay
Median salary for this career is higher than the median salary of all careers in the county selected. Salary data is provided by the Texas Workforce Commission.
Teach courses in library science. Includes both teachers primarily engaged in teaching and those who do a combination of teaching and research.
Instructional Coordinators
Better pay
Median salary for this career is higher than the median salary of all careers in the county selected. Salary data is provided by the Texas Workforce Commission.
In demand
In demand careers have high-growth, high-demand, and emerging jobs critical to Texas. They are based on economic indicators like in demand industries, labor market trends, and economic conditions, provided by the Texas Workforce Commission.
Develop instructional material, coordinate educational content, and incorporate current technology into instruction in order to provide guidelines to educators and instructors for developing curricula and conducting courses. May train and coach teachers. Includes educational consultants and specialists, and instructional material directors.
- American Association of Law Libraries (external link opens new tab)
- American Association of School Librarians (external link opens new tab)
- American Library Association (external link opens new tab)
- Association for Information Science and Technology (external link opens new tab)
- Association for Library Collections and Technical Services (external link opens new tab)
- Association for Library Service to Children (external link opens new tab)
- Association of College and Research Libraries (external link opens new tab)
- Association of Jewish Libraries (external link opens new tab)
- Consortium of College and University Media Centers (external link opens new tab)
- InfoComm International (external link opens new tab)