Librarians and Media Collections Specialists Career, Salary and Skills
Librarians and Media Collections Specialists have a BLS-reported national median annual wage of $68,270 based on the 2025 OEWS dataset, with reported national employment of 133,790. Wage data is published for 411 locations.
Occupation description
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.
O*NET code
25-4022.00
Job zone
5
Typical education
Not recorded
Experience
Over 1 year, up to and including 2 years
National salary and employment
Median annual
$68,270
Hourly median
$32.82
Employment
133,790
Data year
2025
National salary distribution
Top skills
| Skill | Importance | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Reading Comprehension | 4.12 | 4.12 |
| Speaking | 4.00 | 4.12 |
| Active Listening | 4.00 | 4.00 |
| Critical Thinking | 3.62 | 3.88 |
| Writing | 3.62 | 4.00 |
| Service Orientation | 3.38 | 3.38 |
| Social Perceptiveness | 3.25 | 3.12 |
| Monitoring | 3.25 | 3.38 |
| Judgment and Decision Making | 3.25 | 3.12 |
| Active Learning | 3.12 | 3.38 |
Typical tasks
- Analyze patrons' requests to determine needed information and assist in furnishing or locating that information.
- Supervise daily library operations, budgeting, planning, and personnel activities, such as hiring, training, scheduling, and performance evaluations.
- Plan and teach classes on topics such as information literacy, library instruction, and technology use.
- Code, classify, and catalog books, publications, films, audio-visual aids, and other library materials, based on subject matter or standard library classification systems.
- Confer with colleagues, faculty, and community members and organizations to conduct informational programs, make collection decisions, and determine library services to offer.
- Review and evaluate materials, using book reviews, catalogs, faculty recommendations, and current holdings to select and order print, audio-visual, and electronic resources.
- Evaluate vendor products and performance, negotiate contracts, and place orders.
- Search standard reference materials, including online sources and the Internet, to answer patrons' reference questions.
Technology
- Adobe Acrobat
- Adobe After Effects
- Adobe Creative Cloud software
- Adobe Dreamweaver
- Adobe Illustrator
- Adobe InDesign
- Adobe Photoshop
- Adobe Premiere Pro
- Apple Final Cut Pro
- Apple iMovie
- askSam Systems SurfSaver
- Autodesk AutoCAD
- Blackboard software
- Blogging software
Librarians and Media Collections Specialists salary by location
Areas with the highest reported employment for this occupation.
- Librarians and Media Collections Specialists Salary in NYMedian $78,590 · Employment 11,870
- Librarians and Media Collections Specialists Salary in New York, NYMedian $81,670 · Employment 10,690
- Librarians and Media Collections Specialists Salary in CAMedian $89,790 · Employment 10,180
- Librarians and Media Collections Specialists Salary in TXMedian $71,860 · Employment 9,150
- Librarians and Media Collections Specialists Salary in FLMedian $67,060 · Employment 6,670
- Librarians and Media Collections Specialists Salary in ILMedian $62,700 · Employment 5,390
- Librarians and Media Collections Specialists Salary in PAMedian $62,880 · Employment 5,050
- Librarians and Media Collections Specialists Salary in MAMedian $78,540 · Employment 4,980
- Librarians and Media Collections Specialists Salary in OHMedian $60,630 · Employment 4,820
- Librarians and Media Collections Specialists Salary in VAMedian $77,430 · Employment 4,590
- Librarians and Media Collections Specialists Salary in NJMedian $78,380 · Employment 4,100
- Librarians and Media Collections Specialists Salary in NCMedian $61,420 · Employment 4,010
Related careers
- Administrative Services ManagersNational median $114,130
- Education Teachers, PostsecondaryNational median $75,350
- Office Clerks, GeneralNational median $45,010
- Media Programming DirectorsNational median $90,360
- Education Administrators, PostsecondaryNational median $104,590
- CuratorsNational median $63,420
- Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and ExecutiveNational median $47,540
- File ClerksNational median $43,600
Career and skills data: O*NET 31.0 (onetcenter.org). Salary and employment data: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS, 2025 (bls.gov/oes). Figures are published survey estimates, not real-time market data.