How to become a librarian

Librarians choose, catalogue and promote collections, and help people find what they need. The National Careers Service gives pay of £25,000 for a starter to £40,000 for an experienced librarian, on a 36 to 40 hour week that may include evening and weekend shifts. You usually need a degree or postgraduate course, and CILIP accredits the courses many employers prefer.

What librarians do

The listed duties are cataloguing print and digital resources, handling counter, phone and email enquiries, and planning events and activities for library users. Librarians also manage staff, budgets and training, support researchers with archives and document collections, do stock-taking, select new publications, build community links and promote services online.

A library assistant mostly works the counter and shelves. The librarian’s listed duties add managing staff and budgets and selecting new publications.

Where librarians work

The profile says a librarian could work at a library, at a school, at a university, at a college or in a prison. It does not name specific councils. Check who the employer is, as pay arrangements differ between them. The school librarian profile covers the school side, and how to get a council job covers applying to local authorities.

Routes in

• A degree, which usually asks for 2 to 3 A levels or equivalent.
• A postgraduate course, usually requiring a degree in any subject. Practical experience, such as an internship or volunteering, may also be needed.
• Starting as a library assistant or data officer, then moving up.
• An employer’s graduate training scheme, if you have a first degree.

Courses can be accredited by the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP). Check the course page against the vacancies you want.

Checks

You will need to pass enhanced background checks. GOV.UK lists the DBS levels as basic, standard, enhanced and enhanced with barred lists, and the employer decides which applies. See DBS check levels for what each one covers.

Applying for a librarian post

Because the profile says practical experience may be needed alongside a postgraduate course, show it. Give dates and tasks for each library assistant, internship or volunteering role. The listed duties are a useful checklist: cataloguing, enquiries, events, budgets and stock selection each make a separate example. Our guide to reading a job description and person specification shows how to match them to the advert.

For council posts, how to get a council job covers the process, and how shortlisting works explains why each criterion needs its own evidence. The STAR method helps with interview answers, and pre-employment checks covers what follows a conditional offer, including the enhanced background check the profile mentions.

Council terms to check

A librarian employed by a council normally falls under the National Joint Council (NJC) Green Book. The May 2024 copy sets a standard full-time week of 37 hours (36 in London) and a minimum of 23 days’ annual leave from 1 April 2023, with a further 3 days after five years’ continuous service and two extra statutory days. The 2026/27 award of 3.3 per cent on NJC pay points 3 to 43 was agreed on 24 August 2026. Schools, colleges and universities use other arrangements. The NJC pay spine guide explains the council pay points.

Questions to ask before you accept

Useful questions to ask are how many sites you would cover, whether evening and weekend shifts are rostered, how stock and event budgets are decided and whether the employer supports CILIP membership or chartership. Ask about the team and the rota: the profile lists managing staff, budgets and training among the duties, so find out how many people you would manage and how much of the job is front-of-house.

Career path

The National Careers Service describes progression to a senior role as a library or area manager, or to responsibility for a specialist service or collection. Professional registration with CILIP leads to chartership. Read the requirements on CILIP’s own site.

Before accepting an offer, use the take-home pay calculator to turn the advertised salary into monthly pay. If shifts include weekends, ask whether the contract pays extra for them.