How to become a librarian

So you want to be a librarian, but not sure how to get there?

I sat down with Grace, a 25 year old library technician, to ask her how she got her job.

So, what do you do?

I am a library technician in a primary school.

What is a library technician?

That’s hard to answer. I think the role can differ depending on the library you’re in and whether you have other staff doing other library related jobs. I kind of do everything that needs to be done in the school library – borrowing, returns, shelving, tidying, buying books, cataloguing them and also covering them. I repair books when needed.

Another part of the role is doing readers advisory, which is providing recommendations for students and staff. Then there are general admin things like keeping student borrowing accounts up to day, sending out overdue notices and helping out with events in the library.

What did you study at uni?

I did a Bachelor of Arts majoring in English & Theatre Studies and Creative Writing. I then did a Masters of Information Management.

Do you need to have a degree to become a librarian?

Yes. There are usually 3 different levels of roles in a library:

Library assistant/officer – you don’t need a degree for these roles.

Library technician – This depends on the library. The ALIA (the professional organisation that accredits courses) lists only diplomas, however a gov website also includes Cert III and IV. Not having done a ALIA accredited course doesn’t mean you won’t get work, but a lot of libraries probably look for it.

Librarian – As a librarian you can get a graduate diploma, bachelor degree or masters. It seems to be really common to do an unrelated bachelor degree (there were people from a whole range of disciplines in my course) and go in fresh to the masters. Having subject knowledge in another discipline can be a real advantage as a librarian, as can university-level research and project skills.

This is all broadly speaking – it’s going to depend on the library that you’re working in.

What work experience did you have before this role?

I had volunteered previously in a primary school library, but I had mostly worked in retail before this. I’d also worked 3 weeks in RMITs library before lockdowns in 2020 so I didn’t have a lot of experience working in libraries.

After applying for this role, I was initially offered just a few hours a week to get experience, but when the other person who got the role left they offered all the hours to me.

What are the main challenges of your role?

I think time management is a big challenge because I am responsible for a lot of things and there are competing demands on my time. Learning to balance everyday things with things like cataloguing and covering, and also doing little programs. I have to make sure I am spending the right amount of times doing the right thing, and really prioritising my to-do list.

Recommending books can be hard. We have thousands of books and I obviously haven’t read them all, so getting familiar enough with the books to allow me to recommend them based on students’ age, ability and interest can be a challenge.

What piece of advice would you give someone looking to become a librarian?

There are often a lot of volunteer opportunities in libraries. Public libraries need volunteers to help with programs. You may be able to get volunteer roles in school libraries as they need a bit of help.

And you do need to study if you want to be a library technician or librarian, so it would be good to get an idea of what sort of courses are available to you.

Think about what kind of library you want to work in – school, law, medical, specialist, university, public etc.

What’s next for you? Where can a career with a Masters in Information Management take you?

For me, I’ll look for a full time role in a bigger library. At the moment I don’t work with anyone more experienced than me, so I would love to learn how more experienced librarians run their libraries.

The degree can take you so many places, not just within library services. Archiving, record management for government agencies and organisations – basically anywhere that has information that needs managing!

Grace had her resume and cover letter reviewed by Good Friend Resumes, and implemented the advice during her job hunt.