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Librarian Resume 2026 - MLIS, cataloguing, reference and programming free sample

Антон Литвинов
Антон Литвинов Founder, AI Resume Master
in 𝕏
Published: 25.09.2026 Updated: 25.09.2026

Librarian is really three jobs that share a degree. A public librarian is hired for programming, readers advisory and the ability to run a service desk in a building open to everyone. A school librarian is hired as a teacher with a library, and usually needs state certification on top of the degree. An academic librarian is hired for a subject area, information literacy instruction and, increasingly, for what they can do with digital collections and research support. The credential at the base of all three is the MLIS or MLS from a programme accredited by the American Library Association, and for school positions a state-issued school library media certification as well, set state by state. Public and academic applications almost always run through a government or university portal with a strict minimum-qualification screen, so the degree, the accreditation and the required years have to appear in plain text. Below is a full sample and how to aim it at the right one of the three.

What you get

  • A complete librarian resume sample
  • 3 PDF templates
  • A way to aim one resume at public, school or academic roles
  • 6 mistakes that cost interviews
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Ready sample

Librarian resume sample

Structured for a screening committee: degree and accreditation first, then the systems you can actually operate, then public service and programming with attendance figures.

MLIS with the accreditation stated

Write the degree, the institution, the year and the fact that the programme is ALA-accredited, because many postings list that exactly as a minimum qualification and the screen looks for the phrase. For school positions add your state certification and its title.

Systems named, not implied

Alma, Primo, Sierra, Koha, Polaris, Evergreen, Follett Destiny, OCLC Connexion, LibGuides, EZproxy. Cataloguing standards too: MARC21, RDA, Dewey, Library of Congress Classification and Subject Headings. These are searchable terms and hiring committees screen on them.

Programming with attendance

Storytime, summer reading, teen programming, adult learning, author visits, community partnerships. Give the number of sessions and the attendance, and the growth across a year, because programming is where public library hiring is decided.

Portal-safe formatting

Municipal and university application systems are strict. Single column, standard headings, no photo, no tables, and the posting's own minimum-qualification language repeated in your text, since many of these screens are pass or fail before a human reads anything.

Sample resume text

Use it as a reference: keep the structure and wording, put in your own facts and numbers.

Priya Raghunathan

Public Services Librarian, MLIS (ALA-accredited)
Portland, OR
priya.raghunathan@example.com
(503) 555-0136
linkedin.com/in/example

Profile

Public Services Librarian with 6 years in a 4-branch public system, MLIS from an ALA-accredited programme. Run adult and teen programming, 120 sessions a year with attendance up from 1,400 to 3,900 across three years. Original and copy cataloguing in MARC21 and RDA through OCLC Connexion, collection development for a 26,000 dollar adult non-fiction budget, and daily reference on a desk serving about 300 visits a day. Spanish-language reference and bilingual storytime.

Experience

Public Services Librarian2021 - present

Willamette Valley Regional Library, Portland, OR (4 branches, about 300 visits a day at the main branch)

  • Built and run adult and teen programming across the system: 120 sessions a year, attendance up from 1,400 to 3,900 over three years after moving teen programming to after-school hours and partnering with 2 local schools
  • Manage a 26,000 dollar adult non-fiction materials budget, including an annual weeding cycle that removed about 2,300 items and freed shelf space for a new world languages collection
  • Catalogue original and copy records in MARC21 and RDA through OCLC Connexion, about 900 records a year, and cleared an 1,800 item backlog inherited in 2022
  • Created the bilingual English and Spanish storytime now running weekly at 2 branches, averaging 34 attendees a session
  • Wrote a 45,000 dollar state library grant funding a digital literacy programme for adults, delivered to 210 participants in its first year
Reference and Instruction Librarian2019 - 2021

Cascade Community College Library, Salem, OR

  • Taught 62 information literacy sessions a year to about 1,400 students, built around the ACRL Framework and the college's composition sequence
  • Served as liaison to the health sciences and business programmes, including database selection and usage review
  • Built 14 LibGuides, of which the nursing guide became the most used page on the library site
Library Assistant, Circulation and Technical Services2016 - 2019

Multnomah Heights Public Library, Portland, OR

  • Processed circulation and interlibrary loan requests and supported copy cataloguing during an ILS migration
  • Completed the MLIS while working full time, with a practicum in youth services at the same system

Education

University of Washington, Seattle, WA2017 - 2019

Master of Library and Information Science (ALA-accredited programme)

Portland State University, Portland, OR2012 - 2016

B.A. in English Literature

Skills

Reference interview and database searchingOriginal and copy cataloguing, MARC21, RDA, authority controlDewey Decimal and Library of Congress Subject HeadingsKoha and Polaris, OCLC Connexion and WorldShare ILLCollection development, weeding and vendor managementProgramming design: adult, teen and bilingual storytimeOverDrive and Libby, hoopla, database usage reportingLibGuides and digital reference toolsGrant writing and community partnership developmentSpanish (professional working proficiency)

Training and Professional Activity

  • OCLC Connexion original cataloguing training - 2022
  • Oregon Library Association member, programming committee - since 2021
  • Public Library Association programming workshop series - 2023
  • Mental health first aid for public-facing staff - 2023

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Profile

Librarian profile summary

Four lines: your degree and its accreditation, the library type you have worked in, your specialism, the systems you run, and one number from service or programming. A committee reading forty applications needs to place you in a department from this paragraph.

If you are moving between library types, say so openly and translate. A school librarian applying to a public library should lead with programming and collection development rather than with lesson plans, and an academic librarian moving to public service should lead with instruction, reference and outreach.

WeakDetail-oriented librarian with a love of books and reading and strong organisational skills. Committed to providing excellent service to library patrons of all ages.
StrongPublic Services Librarian, MLIS (ALA-accredited), 6 years in a 4-branch public system. Run adult and teen programming, 120 sessions a year with attendance up from 1,400 to 3,900 across three years. Original and copy cataloguing in MARC21 and RDA through OCLC Connexion, collection development for a 26,000 dollar adult non-fiction budget, and daily reference on a desk serving about 300 visits a day. Spanish-language reference and programming.
Tip
Say which library type you want in the headline. 'Public Services Librarian', 'School Librarian, K-8' and 'Science Liaison Librarian' each tell a committee immediately that you understood their posting, and a generic 'Librarian' tells them nothing.
Skills

Librarian skills for a resume

Technical services, public service, instruction and the systems underneath all three. Name tools and standards exactly, because committees screen on the exact strings.

Hard skills

  • MLIS or MLS from an ALA-accredited programme, with state school library certification where required
  • Cataloguing: original and copy cataloguing, MARC21, RDA, authority control, OCLC Connexion
  • Classification and subject analysis: Dewey Decimal, Library of Congress Classification and Subject Headings
  • Library systems and discovery layers: Alma and Primo, Sierra, Koha, Polaris, Evergreen, Follett Destiny
  • Reference service: the reference interview, database searching, interlibrary loan through OCLC WorldShare
  • Information literacy instruction, including work with the ACRL Framework in academic settings
  • Collection development, weeding, vendor relations and materials budget management
  • Digital collections: digitisation workflows, Dublin Core metadata, repository platforms, EZproxy access
  • E-resources and e-lending platforms: OverDrive and Libby, hoopla, database licensing and usage statistics
  • Programming design and delivery: storytime, summer reading, teen services, adult learning, outreach

Soft skills

  • Finding out what somebody actually needs when their first question is not the real one
  • Holding a public service desk calmly on a difficult day in a building open to everyone
  • De-escalating a patron conflict without reaching for security first
  • Teaching a research session to students who did not want to be there
  • Defending a collection decision to a board or a parent, with policy behind you
  • Working with teachers, faculty or community organisations who see the library as optional
  • Explaining a database or a catalogue to someone with no search vocabulary at all
  • Serving a community whose first language is not yours
  • Keeping patron privacy absolutely, including from colleagues and family members
  • Making a case for the library's budget in language a finance committee accepts
Experience

How to write library experience

Formula: library type and size, plus what you built or ran, plus the system or standard involved, plus a number. Not 'provided reference services', but on what desk, at what volume, for which community, and what you changed about it.

Library work is invisible unless you count it. Records catalogued, items processed, programmes run, attendance, instruction sessions taught, students reached, database usage after you promoted it, backlog cleared. Committees are used to reading these figures and notice when they are missing.

Weak- Provided reference and readers advisory services to patrons, assisted with programmes and helped maintain the collection.
Strong- Ran adult and teen programming across a 4-branch system: 120 sessions a year, attendance up from 1,400 to 3,900 over three years after moving teen programming to after-school hours and partnering with two local schools, and built the bilingual storytime that now runs weekly at two branches.
What to include
Library type and size - collections and budget you managed - systems and standards used by name - records or items processed - programmes and attendance - instruction sessions and students - committees, grants and partnerships.
Education

Degrees, accreditation and certification

The MLIS or MLS from an ALA-accredited programme is the baseline for most professional librarian posts, and many postings write accreditation into the minimum qualifications, so state it explicitly. School librarian positions add a state-issued credential, usually called a school library media specialist certification or something close, and in many states it also requires a teaching licence or an accompanying content exam such as the Praxis Library Media Specialist assessment. These requirements are set state by state, so confirm the exact title and route with your own state education agency rather than assuming.

  • MLIS or MLS with institution, year, and the words ALA-accredited where it applies
  • State school library media certification, with the issuing state and valid-through date
  • Teaching licence, if your state pairs it with school library certification
  • Praxis Library Media Specialist or your state's equivalent exam, where required
  • Second subject master's degree, which many academic liaison posts prefer
  • Archives, records or digital curation credentials, if you hold them
  • Continuing education through ALA divisions, state library associations or PLA and ACRL
  • Languages you can provide service in, which many public systems screen for directly
Careful
Do not shorten a library technician or paraprofessional qualification into MLIS on the page. Committees check accreditation against the ALA list, and library assistant experience is worth writing honestly in its own right.
New librarians

Librarian resume with no professional post yet

Almost everyone enters this field through a paraprofessional or student job, and committees know it. What separates the new MLIS graduates who get interviews is specificity: which system they have used, which standard they can catalogue in, and something they ran themselves rather than assisted with.

Library assistant, page, circulation, student worker, practicum, internship and volunteer work all count if you write the systems and the volumes. Then add one thing that was yours: a LibGuide, a programme series, a digitisation batch, a weeding project, an instruction session you taught alone.

  • Practicum or internship written as a job, with the library type and what you owned
  • Library assistant, circulation or page work, with the system you used named
  • Cataloguing practice: records created or edited, standards used, supervisor sign-off
  • One programme or instruction session you designed and delivered yourself
  • A digital project: a LibGuide, a finding aid, a digitisation batch, a metadata clean-up
  • Professional association membership and any conference poster or presentation

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Mistakes

Common mistakes

One resume for all three library types

Public, school and academic committees want different first paragraphs. Programming and community for public, instruction and standards for school, subject expertise and information literacy for academic. Reorder rather than sending the same file to all three.

Accreditation left unstated

'MLIS, 2019' can fail a minimum-qualification screen that is looking for the phrase ALA-accredited. Write it out. It costs three words and it is the difference between being read and being filtered.

Systems described generically

'Integrated library system' does not match a posting that says Alma or Koha. Name every platform you have operated, and if you have only used one, say so honestly rather than hinting at breadth you cannot demonstrate.

No numbers on programming or service

Sessions, attendance, desk volume, records catalogued, instruction sessions, students reached. Library outcomes are countable, and a resume without counts reads as a job description with your name on it.

A love of books as the pitch

Everybody applying loves books. Committees hire for cataloguing accuracy, instruction, community programming, budget discipline and the ability to run a public desk. Put the affection in the cover letter if you must, and evidence on the resume.

Decorated layouts in a government portal

Municipal and university systems are among the strictest parsers you will meet, and many require a separate structured application as well. Single column, plain headings, no photo, and fill the portal fields completely even when they duplicate your resume.

Takeaways

Takeaways

Remember

  • MLIS with ALA-accredited stated in plain text
  • School posts need state certification, written exactly
  • Name every system and cataloguing standard
  • Programming and instruction with attendance figures
  • Aim the headline at public, school or academic
  • Single column, no photo, portal fields filled out
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FAQ

Frequently asked questions

For professional librarian posts in public and academic libraries, an MLIS or MLS from an ALA-accredited programme is usually the stated minimum qualification, and the accreditation matters as much as the degree. Library assistant, technician and paraprofessional roles do not require it and are real careers in their own right, but they are advertised separately. School librarian positions add a state credential on top. Read the minimum qualifications on the posting literally, because in government and university hiring they are applied as a pass or fail screen rather than as a preference.
A school librarian is a teacher first in the eyes of the district. Most states require a school library media specialist certification, often alongside a teaching licence and a subject exam such as the Praxis Library Media Specialist assessment, and these rules are set state by state so you must check your own. The resume then has to show instruction: collaboration with classroom teachers, information literacy lessons taught, reading programme results, and how you support the curriculum. Collection development and cataloguing still matter, but they come second. Our teacher page covers the instructional side in more depth.
By the work you want to do on a Tuesday afternoon. Public libraries are community service and programming, with a wide public and a service desk that never fully closes. School libraries are teaching, with a fixed schedule, a captive audience and the politics of a district. Academic libraries are instruction and subject support, often with liaison duties to faculty and involvement in research services or scholarly communication. Pay scales, hiring cycles and job security differ between the three, so look at live postings in your region before you commit to one track.
As much as you can substantiate, because it is one of the few genuinely scarce technical skills in the profession. Say whether you do original or copy cataloguing, which standards you work in such as MARC21 and RDA, which classification schemes you use, whether you handle authority control, and roughly how many records you have created or corrected. If your cataloguing is limited to copy work through OCLC, write that plainly. Overstating it is easily caught, because a technical services interview usually includes a record to look at.
With counts and growth. Number of sessions per year, attendance, age groups served, partnerships involved, and what changed when you altered something. 'Moved teen programming to after-school hours and attendance rose from 1,400 to 3,900 across three years' is the shape a public library committee wants. Add outreach beyond the building, such as school visits, senior centres, festivals or a bookmobile route, since serving people who do not already come in is what most public systems are trying to solve.
Name the platforms and the work. Digitisation projects with the number of items processed, metadata schemes you have applied such as Dublin Core, repository platforms you have worked in, proxy and authentication administration, e-lending platforms such as OverDrive and hoopla, database licensing, and usage statistics you pulled and acted on. This is where a lot of new library work actually sits, and it is the area where many resumes are still silent, so a specific paragraph here stands out.
Write the paraprofessional and student work seriously, with systems and volumes named, then show one thing you owned end to end. Committees are realistic about entry level, but they discount applications that are entirely coursework. A practicum where you taught two instruction sessions, a LibGuide you built and maintained, a weeding project you ran, or a programme series you designed all give an interview panel something concrete to ask about. Joining a state library association and volunteering on a committee also puts you in front of the people doing the hiring.
Yes - the full sample above, and all templates on this page. You can assemble your own resume from any of them in the builder for free and see the result; downloading the finished PDF is paid, by subscription or a one-time payment. The builder keeps your degree, accreditation and systems list in plain parseable text, which is what municipal and university application portals need in order to screen you correctly.
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