Ensure your CV format is structured to best highlight your unique experience and life situation.

Librarian CV Template (Text Format)

PERSONAL STATEMENT

Attentive librarian with 6+ years of experience managing library operations, collecting and organising library resources, and engaging with patrons to provide quality customer service. Skilled in overseeing the check-in/out process for books and all other materials while maintaining library records.

WORK EXPERIENCE

Senior Librarian
Teesdale Comprehensive School, Barnard Castle, August 2020–present

  • Lead a team of 3 librarians and oversee day-to-day library activities
  • Maintain a comprehensive and up-to-date collection of learning resources, including books, journals, magazines, and digital assets
  • Foster an inviting library atmosphere, increasing the number of daily visitors by 50%
  • Identify and use new vendors and websites to acquire learning materials, cutting library acquisition costs by 70%
  • Improve the performance and productivity of team members by leading monthly training initiatives

Librarian
Darlington Town Crown Street Library, Darlington, July 2017–July 2020

  • Contributed to the development and maintenance of library collection
  • Defined and executed a policy and procedure manual for library services
  • Rolled out collection development, quality improvement, and content regulation plans
  • Supported patrons to locate reading material, and facilitated check-in/out process
  • Identified categories of daily visitors and organised library resources
  • Raised awareness about library services by designing and disseminating brochures/handouts

Intern
Darlington Town Crown Street Library, Darlington, May 2016–June 2020

  • Gained real-world expertise and experience by shadowing library staff
  • Supported daily operational objectives under library staff supervision
  • Drafted reports on patron experience and areas for general improvement, then communicated these details to the senior manager

EDUCATION

York St John University, York, UK (2013–2016)
BSc Library Science — upper second-class honours

Relevant Modules: Library Digitisation, Resources and Documentation, Organisation of Information, Library Management

KEY SKILLS

  • Expert communication, analytical, and interpersonal, customer service, and relationship-building skills
  • Proficient in collections management, procurement, and negotiations

HOBBIES & INTERESTS

  • Avid chess player
  • Seasoned cook
  • Curious traveller
  • Hungry reader

How to write your librarian CV

Before you begin writing, make sure you know how to write a CV in a way that best emphasises your strengths.

If you’re looking to fill a librarian role, you need to write a compelling CV to stand out among other qualified applicants.

Below are three tips for making an impressive librarian CV that showcases your library experience and expertise. With a little effort, you’ll soon have a CV that can lands you the library position you’re eyeing.

1. Highlight your librarian skills

When you write your CV, highlight your abilities that show you’re right for a library job.

For instance, librarians are responsible for cataloguing information and organising library materials to help patrons easily locate them. Therefore, showing your in-depth understanding of the Dewey Decimal System makes your application more attractive.

These are some more hard skills — abilities you learn through education and training — that look impressive on a librarian CV:

Additionally, you should highlight your soft skills on your CV. Soft skills are natural aspects of your personality that show your ability to interact with patrons and perform day-to-day activities effectively.

For example, as a librarian you need excellent communication skills, as you assist people with various socioeconomic backgrounds daily. Below are examples of soft skills to include on your librarian CV:

  • Customer service
  • Attention to detail
  • Multitasking
  • Time management
  • Organisation
  • Leadership and management
  • Cooperation

Only mention skills that help you better carry out your duties at your target library. Check the job advert to determine which of your skills are most relevant.

To keep your application looking clean and professional, select a simple CV template that’s free of distracting graphics.

2. Open with a strong personal statement

A CV personal statement is a short introduction of 2–4 sentences summarising your work experience, expertise, and skillset. It gives insight into why you should be considered for the librarian role you’re applying for.

Library employers may refer to your personal statement to decide whether to read your entire CV. So include your skills and achievements that are most relevant to job description to get the recruiter’s attention.

Here’s a personal statement from our sample librarian CV written to convince the recruiter to keep reading:

A sample librarian CV personal statement with the section heading in a pink bar and the applicant's years of experience bolded.
Start with a unique adjective that describes your most librarian-relevant trait.

First, the applicant highlights their years of experience and notes the major duties they performed in their previous positions. Then, the second sentence gives a general overview of the applicant’s abilities to showcase what they intend to bring to their new job that other candidates for the same position can’t.

3. Add hard numbers to your achievements

Use hard numbers in your CV to show a potential employer what you can achieve concretely. Quantify your biggest librarian achievements in percentages and figures to emphasise why you’re the best candidate, rather than just saying so.

Below are examples of hard numbers that make our sample librarian CV stand out:

  • Lead a team of 3 librarians and oversee day-to-day library activities
  • Establish an inviting library atmosphere, increasing the number of daily visitors by 50%
  • Identify and use new vendors and websites to acquire learning materials, cutting library acquisition costs by 70%

Need more ideas?

Our library of CV examples has hundreds of tailored CVs you can use to fine-tune your job application and stand out from other applicants.

 

Librarian job outlook in 2024 — things to know

According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), librarians in the UK earn an average annual salary of £28,174.

You can find information about the gender pay gap for librarians on the ONS’ website.

Data source: The Office for National Statistics, an agency of His Majesty’s Government. The information contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0 and reflects the ONS’s most recent salary (1/11/2023), gender pay gap (4/2023), and skills shortage data (6/2022).

Samuel Johns
Written by

Samuel Johns

Samuel Johns is a Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW) and senior career counsellor on the CV Genius team, with almost 5 years of experience in the career space. He has helped countless job hunters craft high-quality CVs and cover letters, exceed expectations at interviews, and obtain their dream jobs. Born and raised in County Durham in the beautiful North East of England, he graduated with a BA (Hons) in French Language and Literature from the University of Bristol in 2013 and has worked in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, London, Paris, and Taipei as a French–English translator. He’s determined to use his native English and fluent French skills to help UK and French candidates get the jobs they deserve. In addition to the British and French versions of CV Genius, Samuel’s job-hunt advice has been published on numerous websites, including Careers.org, the University of Warwick, the Enterprisers Project, and HR.com. If you’d like to collaborate, please reach out to Samuel through LinkedIn. Please note, we don’t accept guest posts and won’t reply to such requests.