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Senior Librarian

Education

You've leveled up from managing a collection to managing an entire branch. The job is now 40% community programming, 30% staff management, 20% budget spreadsheets, and 10% actually helping someone find a book. You're basically running a community center that happens to have books in it, and you love it despite the fact that your budget got cut again.

Salary Range

Low

$58k

Median

$72k

High

$90k

10-Year Growth

6%

US Workers

40K

Education

MLIS + 5-10 years experience

Environment

indoor

Tools & Technical Skills

  • Branch operations management
  • Collection development & weeding
  • Community programming & outreach
  • Staff supervision & evaluation
  • Budget planning & reporting
  • Integrated library systems (ILS)
  • Digital resource management

People & Mindset Skills

  • Leadership
  • Community engagement
  • Strategic planning
  • Staff development
  • Public speaking
  • Adaptability
  • Budget prioritization

Learn the skills

Courses and certifications to get you job-ready

What you'll actually do

  • 01Manage branch operations, staff schedules, and collection budgets
  • 02Develop community programming — book clubs, tech workshops, author events
  • 03Supervise and evaluate library staff and volunteers
  • 04Analyze circulation data to make collection development decisions
  • 05Coordinate with the city or county on facility issues and funding requests
  • 06Deal with the same patron who's been monopolizing the computers since 9 AM

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