Average Librarian Salary in United Kingdom for 2024

In this article, we will look at the average Librarian salary for 2024 in United Kingdom and how that compares to other countries and professions. We'll also look at interesting salary data points like median salary, 25th and 75th percentile salaries, salary amounts based on experience, bonus ranges and more!

The data in this article has been compiled using official government salary data, salary surveys, and other sources such as job postings which contain salary information.

All salary information is in the local currency, which is the British pound. To keep things simple, we are using the GBP currency code instead of the currency symbol £.

How Much Does a Librarian Make in United Kingdom?

A Librarian working in United Kingdom will typically earn around 48,600 GBP per year, and this can range from the lowest average salary of about 26,200 GBP to the highest average salary of 72,800 GBP.

Average Annual Salary
48,600 GBP
Average Monthly Salary
4,050 GBP

Lowest Annual Salary
26,200 GBP
Lowest Monthly Salary
2,183 GBP

Highest Annual Salary
72,800 GBP
Highest Monthly Salary
6,066 GBP

These are average salaries for a Librarian in United Kingdom and include benefits such as housing and transport. It's also possible for a Librarian to earn more or less than the average salaries shown above.

Librarian salaries will vary a lot based on your experience, location, skills, and gender. Keep reading below to research more data on each of these areas.

Distribution of Librarian Salaries in United Kingdom

So we've looked at the average salaries a Librarian will earn in United Kingdom. The next interesting data point is the distribution of salaries.

Salary ranges

We already know that a Librarian can earn between 26,200 GBP and 72,800 GBP on average in United Kingdom. This is known as the range in statistics.

The difference between the maximum and minimum values is a good indicator of variability in salaries, and can be used by employers to figure out how much they can expect to pay, and for employees to know how much they can earn.

Median salary

The median salary for a Librarian in United Kingdom is 44,700 GBP. This is the middle value in the distribution of salaries.

What this means is that approximately 50% of the population earn less than 44,700 GBP, and 50% of the population earn more than 44,700 GBP.

If you are earning more than the median salary, that's a good indicator that you are being paid well.

If you're not earning more than the median salary, your objective should be to increase your earnings to be at least as high as the median salary (which you can do by asking for a pay rise, looking for a better paying job, etc).

Percentiles

Percentiles are similar to the median salary, but instead of looking at the middle value, they look at the values in the top and bottom half of the distribution.

For the average Librarian salary in United Kingdom, 25% of the population are earning less than 32,900 GBP while 75% of the population earn more than 32,900 GBP.

75% of the population earn less than 54,500 GBP, and 25% of the population earn more than 54,500 GBP.

Like the median salary, the 25th and 75th percentile salaries can be used to determine which quartile you fall into so that you know whether you are being paid well enough compared to others in your profession and location.

The difference between a median and an average salary

The median and average salary are both indicators you can use to see if you are being paid fairly based on the overall population.

  • If your salary is higher than the average and the median salary, you are earning well compared to others.
  • If your salary is lower than the average and the median salary, it could indicate you are not being paid well enough.
  • If you are somewhere in between then it's tricky to determine if you are being paid well enough and you might need to research more closely.

Librarian Salary by Experience Level in United Kingdom

The most important factor in determining your salary after the specific profession is the number of years experience you have. It stands to reason that more years of experience will result in a higher wage.

We have researched the average librarian salary based on years of experience to give you an idea of how the average changes once you've worked for a certain amount of time.

  • 0 - 2 Years Experience. A Librarian in United Kingdom that has less than two years of experience can expect to earn somewhere in the region of 26,100 GBP.
  • 2 - 5 Years Experience. With two to five years of experience the average Librarian salary would increase to 35,400 GBP.
  • 5 - 10 Years Experience. From five to ten years of experience as a Librarian, the average salary would be 48,600 GBP.
  • 10 - 15 Years Experience. Once you have more than ten years of experience the average salary reaches around 58,200 GBP.
  • 15 - 20 Years Experience. A Librarian with 15 to 20 years of experience can earn an average of 62,300 GBP.
  • 20+ Years Experience. For a Librarian with more than 20 years, the expected average salary increases to 65,800 GBP.

Average Salary by Experience Chart

0-2 Years
26,100 GBP
2-5 Years +34%
35,400 GBP
5-10 Years +30%
48,600 GBP
10-15 Years +21%
58,200 GBP
15-20 Years +9%
62,300 GBP
20+ Years +5%
65,800 GBP

Librarian Salary by Education Level in United Kingdom

As well as experience in a job, your education plays a big role in how much you can earn. A lot of higher paying positions require a high level of education, but how much can a degree increase your salary?

In our research we have compared the salaries of employees in the same job and career level with different levels of education to see how much more you can earn at each education level.

The salary you can earn based on your education is very specific to both your location and the career path you choose.

In our research, we looked at the average salary for a Librarian in United Kingdom based on the education level of the employees in order to find out whether a better education level would increase your salary.

  • High School. A Librarian in United Kingdom with a high school education can earn an average salary of 33,600 GBP.

  • Certificate or Diploma. A Librarian in United Kingdom with a certificate or diploma education can earn an average salary of 46,200 GBP.

  • Bachelor's Degree. A Librarian in United Kingdom with a bachelor's degree education can earn an average salary of 63,500 GBP.

Average Salary by Education Chart

High School
33,600 GBP
Certificate or Diploma +43%
46,200 GBP
Bachelor's Degree +38%
63,500 GBP

How Much is a Master's Degree or MBA Program?

The approximate cost of a master's degree or post-graduate program like an MBA in United Kingdom is around 29,600 to 88,700 GBP and takes two years to complete.

As you can see above, there are financial benefits from reaching master's degree level, but don't expect to see much of a salary increase until you have completed the degree.

It's common for people to pursue an MBA or other post-graduate program in order to switch to a a job that pays more. On average, you can expect to earn around 10% more when switching to a new company.

Whether you decide to pursue a master's degree depends on many factors. If you are able to afford it, the numbers suggest that the return on investment is worth it and you could recover the costs in a few years from the salary increase you would receive.

Librarian Salary Compared by Gender

In the modern age, we know that there should never be a pay gap between men and women. Unfortunately, in many professions, there is still a significant difference between the salaries earned by men when compared to the salary of women in the same job.

In United Kingdom, a male librarian will earn an average of 45,400 GBP, while a female librarian will earn around 49,400 GBP.

This means that a male librarian earns approximately 8% less than a female librarian for performing the same job.

Average Salary by Gender Chart in United Kingdom

Male
45,400 GBP
Female +8%
49,400 GBP

Librarian Average Pay Raise in United Kingdom

In many countries, an annual pay raise is often given to employees to reward their service with a salary increase.

From our research, we can see that the average pay raise for a Librarian in United Kingdom is around 10% every 17 months.

The national average pay raise across all professions and industries in United Kingdom is around 9% every 15 months.

In this case, we can see that the number of months between the average pay raise is higher than the typical 12 months.

To make the data more meaningful, we can calculate what the approximate annual pay raise would be using a simple formula:

Annual Increase = ( Increase Rate ÷ Months ) × 12

So for this example, it would be:

Annual Increase = ( 10 ÷ 17 ) × 12  = 7%

What this means is that a Librarian in United Kingdom can expect to receive an average pay raise of around 7% every 12 months.

Annual Pay Raise by Industry in United Kingdom for 2024

In the chart below, you can see the average annual pay raise percentages for each of the major industries in United Kingdom.

You will see that companies in bigger and more lucrative industries tend to have the higher annual pay raises.

Banking
3%
Energy
6%
Information Technology
9%
Healthcare
3%
Travel
6%
Construction
9%
Education
3%

Librarian Bonus and Incentive Rates in United Kingdom

Another part of your overall compensation in a job is how much bonus you receive. Some job roles will be more likely to pay a bonus than others and also more likely to have higher bonus rates.

Generally speaking, jobs that are more involved with direct revenue generation will receive higher bonuses based on the performance towards revenue goals.

A Librarian is a low bonus based job, with 29% of employees reporting at least one bonus in the last 12 months.

71% reported that they had not received any bonuses in the previous 12 months.

For the employees that did receive a bonus in the previous 12 months, the reported bonuses ranged from 1% to 3%.

Received Bonus
29%
No Bonus
71%

What are the Types of Bonus?

There are a number of difference types of bonus you can receive in a job. Including:

  • Individual performance bonus - This is a bonus that is awarded to an individual employee for general performance in the job. It's the most common type of bonus.
  • Company performance bonus - This is a bonus that is awarded to a company employees to share profit with the staff.
  • Goal based bonus - This is a bonus that is awarded to an individual employee (or a team) for achieving specific goals, objectives, or milestones.
  • Holiday bonus - This type of bonus is usually paid around the holidays, often the end of the year, and is a token of appreciation for the hard work throughout the year.

Government vs Private Sector Salaries

Another commonly asked question is whether you get paid a higher salary working in the public (government) sector or the private sector.

Public sector employees in United Kingdom earn approximately 7% more than private sector employees in the same role.

Public Sector
72,700 GBP
Private Sector -7%
68,200 GBP

Salaries for Jobs Similar to a Librarian

In the table below, we have salary information for jobs that are similar to a Librarian in United Kingdom.

Job Title Category Salary
Accreditation Specialist Administration / Reception / Secretarial 78,700 GBP
Admin Clerk Administration / Reception / Secretarial 24,200 GBP
Admin Executive Administration / Reception / Secretarial 39,700 GBP
Administrative Aide Administration / Reception / Secretarial 27,700 GBP
Administrative Analyst Administration / Reception / Secretarial 54,900 GBP
Administrative Assistant Administration / Reception / Secretarial 39,100 GBP
Administrative Associate Administration / Reception / Secretarial 37,200 GBP
Administrative Coordinator Administration / Reception / Secretarial 35,200 GBP
Administrative Manager Administration / Reception / Secretarial 58,800 GBP
Administrative Officer Administration / Reception / Secretarial 37,100 GBP
Administrative Receptionist Administration / Reception / Secretarial 32,900 GBP
Administrative Secretary Administration / Reception / Secretarial 32,200 GBP
Administrative Specialist Administration / Reception / Secretarial 35,300 GBP
Administrative Support Administration / Reception / Secretarial 34,000 GBP
Administrative Technician Administration / Reception / Secretarial 29,600 GBP
Board Secretary Administration / Reception / Secretarial 34,000 GBP
Branch Office Administrator Administration / Reception / Secretarial 56,400 GBP
Business Administrator Administration / Reception / Secretarial 62,600 GBP
Business Office Manager Administration / Reception / Secretarial 92,200 GBP
Central Office Operator Administration / Reception / Secretarial 35,200 GBP
Clerical Assistant Administration / Reception / Secretarial 20,700 GBP
Clerk Administration / Reception / Secretarial 22,400 GBP
Commercial Administrator Administration / Reception / Secretarial 49,200 GBP
Commissions Processor Administration / Reception / Secretarial 43,100 GBP
Conveyancing Secretary Administration / Reception / Secretarial 32,200 GBP
Corporate Receptionist Administration / Reception / Secretarial 35,600 GBP
Creditors Clerk Administration / Reception / Secretarial 35,400 GBP
Data Entry Clerk Administration / Reception / Secretarial 23,600 GBP
Data Entry Specialist Administration / Reception / Secretarial 38,700 GBP
Document Controller Administration / Reception / Secretarial 30,600 GBP
Document Management Specialist Administration / Reception / Secretarial 42,700 GBP
Executive Administrative Assistant Administration / Reception / Secretarial 41,900 GBP
Executive Assistant Administration / Reception / Secretarial 41,000 GBP
Executive Officer Administration / Reception / Secretarial 49,000 GBP
Executive Personal Assistant Administration / Reception / Secretarial 46,700 GBP
Executive Secretary Administration / Reception / Secretarial 36,200 GBP
File Clerk Administration / Reception / Secretarial 26,400 GBP
Front Desk Attendant Administration / Reception / Secretarial 35,000 GBP
Front Desk Coordinator Administration / Reception / Secretarial 43,500 GBP
Front Desk Manager Administration / Reception / Secretarial 58,600 GBP
Front Desk Receptionist Administration / Reception / Secretarial 35,300 GBP
Front Desk Shift Leader Administration / Reception / Secretarial 46,400 GBP
Front Office Assistant Administration / Reception / Secretarial 30,300 GBP
Front Office Executive Administration / Reception / Secretarial 45,300 GBP
Group Services Manager Administration / Reception / Secretarial 99,600 GBP
Head Receptionist Administration / Reception / Secretarial 40,300 GBP
Inquiry and Admissions Clerk Administration / Reception / Secretarial 23,600 GBP
Key Account Assistant Administration / Reception / Secretarial 42,800 GBP
Keyboard and Data Entry Operator Administration / Reception / Secretarial 22,800 GBP
Leasing Administrator Administration / Reception / Secretarial 46,300 GBP
Legal Secretary Administration / Reception / Secretarial 36,200 GBP
Mail Processing Clerk Administration / Reception / Secretarial 21,200 GBP
Mail Sorting Clerk Administration / Reception / Secretarial 19,300 GBP
Mailroom Clerk Administration / Reception / Secretarial 23,000 GBP
Mailroom Manager Administration / Reception / Secretarial 39,600 GBP
Management Support Secretary Administration / Reception / Secretarial 36,700 GBP
Master Programme Coordinator Administration / Reception / Secretarial 68,900 GBP
Medical Receptionist Administration / Reception / Secretarial 36,500 GBP
Meeting and Event Assistant Administration / Reception / Secretarial 41,900 GBP
Meeting and Event Manager Administration / Reception / Secretarial 92,100 GBP
Night Manager Administration / Reception / Secretarial 55,700 GBP
Office Administrator Administration / Reception / Secretarial 57,100 GBP
Office Assistant Administration / Reception / Secretarial 24,200 GBP
Office Automation Clerk Administration / Reception / Secretarial 40,300 GBP
Office Clerk Administration / Reception / Secretarial 26,500 GBP
Office Coordinator Administration / Reception / Secretarial 35,300 GBP
Office Manager Administration / Reception / Secretarial 59,900 GBP
Office Services Coordinator Administration / Reception / Secretarial 50,300 GBP
Office Supervisor Administration / Reception / Secretarial 45,000 GBP
Operations Analyst Administration / Reception / Secretarial 72,700 GBP
Operations Clerk Administration / Reception / Secretarial 40,200 GBP
Operations Manager Administration / Reception / Secretarial 93,100 GBP
Personal Assistant Administration / Reception / Secretarial 35,200 GBP
Planning Assistant Administration / Reception / Secretarial 45,600 GBP
Process Expert Administration / Reception / Secretarial 52,800 GBP
Program Coordinator Administration / Reception / Secretarial 53,600 GBP
Programme Assistant Administration / Reception / Secretarial 45,600 GBP
Project Administrator Administration / Reception / Secretarial 63,200 GBP
Project Coordinator Administration / Reception / Secretarial 83,200 GBP
Query Administrator Administration / Reception / Secretarial 45,600 GBP
Reception Team Lead Administration / Reception / Secretarial 45,800 GBP
Receptionist Administration / Reception / Secretarial 35,100 GBP
Records Officer Administration / Reception / Secretarial 30,100 GBP
Registry Administrator Administration / Reception / Secretarial 39,500 GBP
Registry and Filing Clerk Administration / Reception / Secretarial 24,200 GBP
Rental Clerk Administration / Reception / Secretarial 26,400 GBP
Schedule Officer Administration / Reception / Secretarial 23,600 GBP
Scheduler Administration / Reception / Secretarial 27,800 GBP
School Secretary Administration / Reception / Secretarial 34,300 GBP
Secretary Administration / Reception / Secretarial 31,700 GBP
Service Reception Head Administration / Reception / Secretarial 42,400 GBP
Switchboard Operator Administration / Reception / Secretarial 27,400 GBP
Technical Program Manager Administration / Reception / Secretarial 83,300 GBP
Technical Project Manager Administration / Reception / Secretarial 91,900 GBP
Typist Administration / Reception / Secretarial 27,200 GBP
Unit Secretary Administration / Reception / Secretarial 33,000 GBP
Wayleave Officer Administration / Reception / Secretarial 24,200 GBP

Salary Comparison by City

If you want to compare salaries with different cities in United Kingdom, you can use the links below to explore the data for each specific city we have researched.

City Average Salary
Aberdeen 46,500 GBP
Abingdon 42,350 GBP
Armagh 49,850 GBP
Bangor 42,550 GBP
Belfast 50,150 GBP
Birmingham 52,500 GBP
Bradford 49,650 GBP
Brighton 50,150 GBP
Bristol 52,750 GBP
Cambridge 46,800 GBP
Canterbury 42,500 GBP
Cardiff 50,350 GBP
Chester 42,800 GBP
Coventry 52,450 GBP
Derby 51,000 GBP
Derry 46,400 GBP
Dundee 47,500 GBP
Durham 45,400 GBP
Edinburgh 51,850 GBP
Exeter 47,500 GBP
Glasgow 53,900 GBP
Gloucester 47,350 GBP
Hartlepool 46,200 GBP
Inverness 44,500 GBP
Kingston upon Hull 49,900 GBP
Kirkwall 40,600 GBP
Leeds 51,600 GBP
Leicester 50,050 GBP
Lincoln 44,800 GBP
Lisburn 44,650 GBP
Liverpool 52,100 GBP
London 54,100 GBP
Manchester 49,750 GBP
Newcastle 50,700 GBP
Newport 45,150 GBP
Newry 48,050 GBP
Norwich 46,350 GBP
Nottingham 52,200 GBP
Oxford 48,650 GBP
Peterborough 48,650 GBP
Plymouth 49,650 GBP
Poole 47,950 GBP
Portsmouth 50,000 GBP
Ripon 44,450 GBP
Salisbury 43,750 GBP
Sheffield 53,350 GBP
Somerset 51,800 GBP
Southampton 49,450 GBP
St Davids 39,700 GBP
Stirling 44,500 GBP
Stromness 41,450 GBP
Strontian 41,750 GBP
Swansea 49,850 GBP
Truro 44,200 GBP
Wakefield 42,750 GBP
Wells 38,550 GBP
Winchester 41,850 GBP
Wolverhampton 48,900 GBP
York 49,000 GBP

Salary Comparison by State

The table below includes links to the average salary for each state in United Kingdom.

City Average Salary
England 89,250 GBP
Northern Ireland 43,050 GBP
Scotland 65,000 GBP
Wales 45,750 GBP

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