Employment of library assistants is expected to grow about as fast as average. Prospects should be good because many workers leave these jobs and need to be replaced.

Employment change. The number of library assistants is expected to increase by 8 percent between 2006 and 2016, about as fast as the average for all occupations. Efforts to contain costs in local governments and academic institutions of all types will slow overall growth in library services, but may result in the hiring of more library support staff, who are paid less than librarians and who take on more responsibility. Because library assistants work for public institutions, they are not directly affected by the ups and downs of the business cycle, but they may be affected by changes in the level of government funding for libraries.

Job prospects. Each year, many people leave this relatively low-paying occupation for other occupations that offer higher pay or full-time work. This creates good job opportunities for those who want to become library assistants.

Library assistants held about 116,000 jobs in 2006. More than half of these workers were employed by local governments in public libraries; most of the remaining employees worked in school, college, and university libraries. Many of these jobs are part time.

Information about a career as a library assistant can be obtained from either of the following organizations:

• Council on Library/Media Technology, P.O. Box 42048, Mesa, AZ 85274-2048. Internet: http://colt.ucr.edu
• American Library Association, 50 East Huron St., Chicago, IL 60611. Internet: http://www.ala.org/ala/education/educationcareers.htm

Public libraries and libraries in academic institutions also can provide information about job openings for library assistants.