Library Assistants, Clerical
Compile records, and sort, shelve, issue, and receive library materials such as books, electronic media, pictures, cards, slides and microfilm. Locate library materials for loan and replace material in shelving area, stacks, or files according to identification number and title. Register patrons to permit them to borrow books, periodicals, and other library materials.
85,520 people do this job in the US. $36,910 a year.
of the working time. Estimate.
- 11%
- 6%
- 83%
Measured, from Anthropic's usage data (2025). Counts help on part of a task.
On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.
Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 4.4 h long four times in five.
How far this has come
With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this job's working time was within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 2%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 9%. Today's estimate: 10%.
A backcast: today's task data with the best model METR had measured by each date. It shows how fast the models have moved, not what anyone forecast at the time.
The tasks
Sorted by . 32 tasks from .
| Task | Kind | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operate small branch libraries, under the direction of off-site librarian supervisors.Done daily by most who do it. | 31% | 6.7 h3.3 h to 1 work day | Stays with people | |
| Plan or participate in library events and programs, such as story time with children.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 11% | 2.5 h50 min to 6.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Sort books, publications, and other items according to established procedure and return them to shelves, files, or other designated storage areas.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 6% | 25 min13 min to 50 min | Stays with people | |
| Provide assistance to librarians in the maintenance of collections of books, periodicals, magazines, newspapers, and audio-visual and other materials.Done daily by most who do it. | 6% | 38 min17 min to 1.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Perform accounting and bookkeeping activities, such as invoicing, maintaining financial records, budgeting, and handling cash.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 4% | 1.7 h50 min to 3.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Maintain records of items received, stored, issued, and returned and file catalog cards according to system used.Done daily by most who do it. | 4% | 25 min8 min to 1.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Schedule, supervise, and train clerical workers, volunteers, student assistants, and other library employees.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 4% | 1.3 h25 min to 3.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Perform clerical activities, such as answering phones, sorting mail, filing, typing, word processing, and photocopying and mailing out material.Done hourly or more by most who do it. AI observed on this task. | 3% | 13 min4 min to 38 min | Stays with people | |
| Manage reserve materials by placing items on reserve for library patrons, checking items in and out of library, and removing out-of-date items.Done daily by most who do it. | 3% | 17 min8 min to 38 min | Stays with people | |
| Locate library materials for patrons, including books, periodicals, tape cassettes, Braille volumes, and pictures.Done several times a day by most who do it. AI observed on this task. | 3% | 13 min4 min to 25 min | Stays with people | |
| Review records, such as microfilm and issue cards, to identify titles of overdue materials and delinquent borrowers.Done daily by most who do it. | 3% | 38 min13 min to 2.1 h | 91%Half by now | |
| Instruct patrons on how to use reference sources, card catalogs, and automated information systems.Done daily by most who do it. | 2% | 17 min8 min to 33 min | Stays with people |
Within reach, per task: the share of the task's time whose instances are short enough for a model to finish at the chosen date, pace and reliability. Half by: the date half of that time comes within reach.
Jobs that share skills with this one
From O*NET's related occupations. Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.
- Library Technicians36% now, 39% by 2028
- File Clerks31% now, 53% by 2028
- Office Clerks, General58% now, 61% by 2028
- Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive39% now, 69% by 2028
- Document Management Specialists22% now, 92% by 2028
- Stockers and Order Fillers18% now, 18% by 2028
Where this job works
The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025).
Where the most of these jobs are
The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025).