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My World of Work

Librarian

Help people quickly and easily borrow books, ebooks, films and music for fun, for learning and for information.

Also known as: library or information professional, knowledge manager, information manager

About the job

Salary (before tax)

Entry

£25,000

Arrow

Experienced

£40,000

In this job, new workers in Scotland start around £25,000 per year. Experienced workers can earn up to £40,000.

What it's like

Run a library so people can take out books, films, music and information quickly and easily. People will use the library for pleasure or to help them learn and expand their knowledge.

You’d help people to find the things they want and answer their enquiries. You’d use your expertise to might suggest things that you think they might enjoy or which will be useful for their studies.

Libraries hold and lend out all sorts of materials, old and new, including:

  • books and ebooks

  • magazines and newspapers

  • DVDs and CDs

  • photos

  • maps

You could work in a public library or a library in organisations like universities, colleges and schools and some larger companies. It would be useful to have good general knowledge or, if you work in specialist library, an understanding of a particular field.

Your tasks might include:

  • using IT systems to classify materials in the library catalogue and index

  • organising materials so they're easy for people to find

  • explaining to people how to use the library

  • using databases and the internet to help people with information enquiries

  • issuing items for people to borrow

  • keeping up to date with new publications and choosing new stock

  • organising services for specific users, for example in a public library you could organise events or services for pre-school groups, housebound people and ethnic minority groups

  • setting up activities such as reading groups

  • doing displays, talks and events to promote the library and its resources

If you work in a school, college or university you might also teach research skills to students.

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