Library Technicians

ANZSCO ID 399312

Overview

Snapshot

Employed
6,300
Future Growth
N/A
Weekly Earnings
N/A
Full-Time Share
44%
Female Share
88%
Average age
51

Summary

Library Technicians assist Librarians and other information managers in organising and operating systems for handling recorded material and files.

Tasks

  • Orders new library materials and maintains library records and circulation systems.

  • Catalogues printed and recorded material.

  • Enters data into databases and edits computer records.

  • Operates audio-visual and reprographic equipment.

  • Searches and verifies bibliographic data.

Characteristics

Job Type
Technicians And Trades Workers
Skill Level
High skill
ANZSCO Occupation group
Unemployment Rate
n/a
Industries
Pathway(s)
  • University
  • Vocational Education and Training (VET)
  • Informal or on-the-job
Interests
  • Administrative
  • Helping
Physical Demand
  • Light
  • Medium

Outlook

Employment Outlook

JSA produces employment projections to show where likely future job opportunities may be. Employment projections data are only produced for occupations at the broad four digit Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO) level. While data are not available for this occupation, projections data are available for the parent occupation, Gallery, Library and Museum Technicians, under the outlook section.


Earnings and hours

Working arrangements

  • Around 44% of people employed as Library Technicians work full-time hours, in all their jobs combined. This is 22 percentage points below the all jobs average (66%).

    Full-time workers work an average of 38 hours per week in their main job. This is 6 hours less than the all jobs average (44 hours per week).

    Sources:Full-time share and full-time hours: ABS, 2016 Census, customised report. Compared to the all jobs average.


Industries

Main industries

1
Education and Training
48.1%
2
Public Administration and Safety
28.6%
3
Information Media and Telecommunications
19.9%
4
Health Care and Social Assistance
1.3%
5
Other industries
1.8%

Regions

Employment across Australia

NSW

19.8% All occupations: 31.6%

VIC

31.4% All occupations: 25.6%

QLD

10.4% All occupations: 20.0%

SA

7.4% All occupations: 7.0%

WA

23.2% All occupations: 10.8%

TAS

4.7% All occupations: 2.0%

NT

0.9% All occupations: 1.0%

ACT

2.0% All occupations: 1.9%

Employment by State and Territory (% Share)

State Library Technicians All Jobs Average
NSW 19.8 31.6
VIC 31.4 25.6
QLD 10.4 20.0
SA 7.4 7.0
WA 23.2 10.8
TAS 4.7 2.0
NT 0.9 1.0
ACT 2.0 1.9


  • Around 67% of Library Technicians live in capital cities, compared with the all jobs average of 62%.

    Western Australia and Victoria have a large share of employment relative to their population size.

    The regions with the largest share of workers are:

    Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Share of workers across Australian states, territories and regions, in this job compared to the all jobs average.


Worker profile

Age and gender

Age In Years
51
All Jobs Average is 40
Female Share
88%
All Jobs Average is 48%
  • The median age of Library Technicians is 51 years. This is higher than the all jobs average of 40 years.

    A large share of workers are aged 45 to 54 years.

    Females make up 88% of the workforce. This is 40 percentage points above the all jobs average of 48%.

    Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Age profile and gender share compared to the all jobs average.

Age Profile (% Share)

Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Age profile of workers in this job compared to the all jobs average.
Age Bracket Library Technicians All Jobs Average
15-19 0.4 5.0
20-24 2.8 9.3
25-34 10.6 22.9
35-44 17.0 22.0
45-54 31.4 21.6
55-59 19.2 9.0
60-64 12.7 6.0
65 and Over 5.8 4.2
Median Age 51 40

Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Age profile of workers in this job compared to the all jobs average.


Employment Pathways

Education, training and experience

Extensive experience or a formal qualification in librarianship or information management is needed to work as a Library Technician. University and Vocational Education and Training (VET) are both common study pathways.

Visit

  • Course Seeker to search and compare higher education courses.
  • ComparED to compare undergraduate and postgraduate student experiences and outcomes.
  • My Skills to compare Vocational Education and Training (VET) courses, providers and student outcomes.
  • AAPathways website to explore Creative Arts and Culture VET training pathways.

Highest Level of Education (% Share)

Source: ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Highest qualification completed by workers in this job (in any field of study). Qualifications needed by new workers might be different from the qualifications of workers already in the job.
Type of Qualification Library Technicians All Jobs Average
Post Graduate/Graduate Diploma or Graduate Certificate 10.0 10.1
Bachelor degree 19.2 21.8
Advanced Diploma/Diploma 40.2 11.6
Certificate III/IV 10.4 21.1
Year 12 10.6 18.1
Year 11 4.3 4.8
Year 10 and below 5.3 12.5

Source: ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Highest qualification completed by workers in this job (in any field of study). Qualifications needed by new workers might be different from the qualifications of workers already in the job.


Skills and Knowledge

Employers look for Gallery, Library and Museum Technicians who can interact well with others, are efficient and can communicate clearly.

Skills

Skills can be improved through training or experience.

  • 52%

    Reading comprehension

    Reading work related information.

  • 48%

    Serving others

    Looking for ways to help people.

  • 45%

    Critical thinking

    Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.

  • 43%

    Active listening

    Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.

  • 43%

    Coordination with others

    Being adaptable and coordinating work with other people.

  • 43%

    Writing

    Writing things for co-workers or customers.

  • 41%

    Speaking

    Talking to others.

  • 41%

    Instructing

    Teaching people how to do something.

  • 41%

    Monitoring

    Keeping track of how well work is progressing so you can make changes or improvements.

  • 39%

    Active learning

    Being able to use what you have learnt to solve problems now and again in the future.

  • 39%

    Social perceptiveness

    Understanding why people react the way they do.

  • 39%

    Time management

    Managing your own and other peoples' time to get work done.

  • 39%

    Learning strategies

    Figuring out the best way to teach or learn something new.

  • 37%

    Judgment and decision making

    Figuring out the pros and cons of different options and choosing the best one.

  • 37%

    Management of personnel resources

    Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, and choosing the best people for the job.

  • 34%

    Persuasion

    Talking people into changing their minds or their behaviour.

  • 34%

    Systems analysis

    Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect it.

  • 30%

    Complex problem solving

    Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.

  • 30%

    Mathematics

    Using maths to solve problems.

  • 29%

    Negotiation

    Bringing people together and trying to sort out their differences.


Knowledge

These are important topics, subjects or knowledge areas.

  • 71%

    Clerical

    Word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office work.

  • 67%

    Computers and electronics

    Circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

  • 53%

    English language

    English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

  • 46%

    Education and training

    Curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

  • 45%

    Customer and personal service

    Understanding customer needs, providing good quality service, and measuring customer satisfaction.

  • 43%

    Law and government

    How our laws and courts work. Government rules and regulations, and the political system.

  • 36%

    Mathematics

    Arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, or statistics.

  • 31%

    Administration and management

    Business principles involved in strategic planning, leadership, and coordinating people and resources.

  • 29%

    Communications and media

    Media production, communication, and dissemination. Includes written, spoken, and visual media.

  • 29%

    Economics and accounting

    Economics and accounting, the financial markets, banking and checking and reporting of financial data.

  • 29%

    Production and processing

    Raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and ways of making and distributing goods.

  • 23%

    Sociology and anthropology

    Group behaviour and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures and their history and origins.

  • 22%

    History and archeology

    Events of the past, their causes, how we learn about them, and how they influence the way we live today.

  • 15%

    Telecommunications

    Transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.

  • 14%

    Sales and marketing

    Showing, promoting, and selling including marketing strategy, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.

  • 13%

    Personnel and human resources

    Recruiting and training people, managing pay and other entitlements (like sick leave), and negotiating pay and conditions.

  • 12%

    Psychology

    Human behaviour; differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; research methods; assessing and treating disorders.

  • 11%

    Philosophy and theology

    Philosophical systems and religions, including their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and impact on society.

  • 11%

    Public safety and security

    Use of equipment, rules and ideas to protect people, data, property, and institutions.

  • 9%

    Fine arts

    Compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.


Abilities

Workers use these physical and mental abilities..

  • 52%

    Near vision

    See details that are up-close (within a few feet).

  • 52%

    Oral expression

    Communicate by speaking.

  • 50%

    Oral comprehension

    Listen to and understand what people say.

  • 50%

    Written comprehension

    Read and understand written information.

  • 46%

    Speech clarity

    Speak clearly so others can understand you.

  • 45%

    Speech recognition

    Identify and understand the speech of another person.

  • 45%

    Deductive reasoning

    Use general rules to find answers or solve problems logically.

  • 45%

    Far vision

    See details that are far away.

  • 41%

    Categorising

    Come up with different ways of grouping things.

  • 41%

    Problem spotting

    Notice when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong, even if you can't solve the problem.

  • 41%

    Sorting or ordering

    Order or arrange things in a pattern or sequence (e.g., numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).

  • 41%

    Written expression

    Write in a way that people can understand.

  • 39%

    Flexibility of closure

    See a pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) hidden in other distracting material.

  • 37%

    Perceptual speed

    Use your eyes to quickly compare groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.

  • 37%

    Inductive reasoning

    Use lots of detailed information to come up with answers or make general rules.

  • 36%

    Selective attention

    Pay attention to something without being distracted.

  • 36%

    Memorization

    Remember things like words, numbers, pictures, and procedures.

  • 34%

    Finger dexterity

    Put together small parts with your fingers.

  • 34%

    Manual dexterity

    Quickly move your hand to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects.

  • 25%

    Multilimb coordination

    Use your arms and/or legs at the same time while sitting, standing, or lying down.


Activities

These are kinds of activities workers regularly do in this job.

  • 61%

    Keeping your knowledge up-to-date

    Keeping up-to-date with technology and new ideas.

  • 59%

    Handling and moving objects

    Using hands and arms in handling, installing, positioning, moving and manipulating objects.

  • 57%

    Planning and prioritising work

    Deciding on goals and putting together a detailed plan to get the work done.

  • 56%

    Building good relationships

    Building good working relationships and keeping them over time.

  • 55%

    Looking for changes over time

    Comparing objects, actions, or events. Looking for differences between them or changes over time.

  • 55%

    Communicating within a team

    Giving information to co-workers by telephone, in writing, or in person.

  • 54%

    Researching and investigating

    Looking for, getting and understanding different kinds of information.

  • 53%

    Collecting and organising information

    Compiling, coding, categorizing, calculating, tabulating, auditing, or checking information or data.

  • 51%

    Documenting or recording information

    Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.

  • 46%

    Working with the public

    Greeting or serving customers, clients or guests, and public speaking or performing.

  • 46%

    Working with computers

    Using computers to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information.

  • 44%

    Communicating with the public

    Giving information to the public, business or government by telephone, in writing, or in person.

  • 43%

    Scheduling work and activities

    Working out the timing of events, programs, and activities, as well as the work of others.

  • 43%

    Monitoring people, processes and things

    Checking objects, actions, or events, and keeping an eye out for problems.

  • 43%

    Making decisions and solving problems

    Using information to work out the best solution and solve problems.

  • 40%

    Thinking creatively

    Using your own ideas for developing, designing, or creating something new.

  • 39%

    Training and teaching others

    Understanding the needs of others, developing training programs, and teaching or instructing.

  • 39%

    Doing physically active work

    Use your arms, legs and whole body, such as climbing, lifting, balancing, walking, stooping, and handling objects.

  • 38%

    Making sense of information and ideas

    Looking at, working with, and understanding data or information.

  • 37%

    Explaining things to people

    Helping people to understand and use information.


Interests and demands

Learn about the daily activities, and physical and social demands faced by workers. Explore the values and work styles that workers rate as most important.

Interests

Interests are the style or type of work we prefer to do. All interest areas are shown below.

  • 100%

    Administrative

    Following set procedures and routines. Working with numbers and details more than with ideas, usually following rules.

  • 71%

    Helping

    Working with people. Helping or providing service to others.

  • 52%

    Enterprising

    Starting up and carrying out projects. Leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes require risk taking and often deal with business.

  • 33%

    Practical

    Practical, hands-on work. Often with plants and animals, or materials like wood, tools, and machinery.

  • 24%

    Creative

    Working with forms, designs and patterns. Often need self-expression and can be done without following rules.

  • 19%

    Analytical

    Ideas and thinking. Searching for facts and figuring out problems in your head.


Values

Work values are important to a person’s feeling of satisfaction. All six values are shown below.
  • 76%

    Relationships

    Serve and work with others. Workers usually get along well with each other, do things to help other people, and are rarely pressured to do things that go against their sense of right and wrong.

  • 67%

    Support

    Supportive management that stands behind employees. Workers are treated fairly by their company, they are supported by management, and have supervisors who train them well.

  • 57%

    Working conditions

    Job security and good working conditions. There is usually a steady flow of interesting work, and the pay and conditions are generally good.

  • 52%

    Independence

    Work alone and make decisions. Workers are able to try out their own ideas, make decisions on their own, and work with little or no supervision.

  • 43%

    Achievement

    Results oriented. Workers are able to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment.

  • 33%

    Recognition

    Advancement and the potential to lead. Workers are recognised for the work that they do, they may give directions and instructions to others, and they are looked up to in their company and their community.


Demands

The physical and social demands that workers face most often are shown below:
  • 99%

    Indoors, heat controlled

    Work indoors with access to heating or cooling.

  • 98%

    Face-to-face discussions

    Talk with people face-to-face.

  • 97%

    Electronic mail

    Use electronic mail.

  • 96%

    Telephone

    Talk on the telephone.

  • 90%

    Contact with people

    Have contact with people by telephone, face-to-face, or any other way.

  • 90%

    Contact with the public

    Work with customers or the public.

  • 82%

    Teamwork

    Work with people in a group or team.

  • 80%

    Physically close to people

    Work physically close to other people.

  • 76%

    Letters and memos

    Write letters and memos.

  • 76%

    Being exact or accurate

    Be very exact or highly accurate.

  • 76%

    Unstructured work

    Have freedom to decide on tasks, priorities, and goals.

  • 74%

    Spend time sitting

    Spend time sitting at work.

  • 73%

    Freedom to make decisions

    Have freedom to make decision on your own.

  • 72%

    Making repetitive motions

    Spend time making repetitive motions.

  • 71%

    Repeating same tasks

    Repeat the same tasks or activities (e.g., key entry) over and over, without stopping.

  • 70%

    Automation of tasks

    Do tasks that are mostly automated.

  • 67%

    Consequence of error

    Work where mistakes have serious consequences.

  • 66%

    Angry or unpleasant people

    Deal with unpleasant, angry, or rude people.

  • 65%

    Time pressure

    Work to strict deadlines.

  • 65%

    Frequent decision making

    Frequently make decisions that impact other people.

Occupational Information Network
O*NET is a trademark of the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration.
The skills and importance ratings on this page are derived from the US Department of Labor O*NET Database Version 21.2, 25-4031.00 - Library Technicians.


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