Library clerks and assistants: salary in the UK
About £25,076 a year after tax (England, Wales and Northern Ireland, 2026/27)
median salary a year, full-time, +6.9% on last year
£2,495 a month About £2,090 a month after tax 8 thousand full-time jobs
Gross pay before tax, including bonuses, commission and overtime. Not included: benefits in kind such as a company car. About the data
Pay range
The dark part is the middle half of full-time employees (25% to 75%); the light bar runs from 10% to 90%. ONS doesn't publish the highest or lowest salary, and x means a figure wasn't published.
Pay by year
The median went from £21,326 in 2021 to £29,940 in 2026 (+40%); for all full-time employees in the UK it changed by +31% over the same years.
Figures by year
| P10 | P25 | Median | P75 | P90 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | x | £19,458 | £21,326 | x | x |
| 2022 | x | £19,388 | £21,512 | x | x |
| 2023 | x | £21,228 | £23,185 | x | x |
| 2024 | x | £22,574 | £26,468 | x | x |
| 2025 | x | £24,163 | £28,013 | x | x |
| 2026 | x | £26,539 | £29,940 | x | x |
ONS figures for each year, not adjusted for inflation. Years before 2021 used a different occupation classification, so they can't be compared. Earlier years are ONS's revised figures; the latest is provisional.
Half of full-time employees in this occupation earn less than £29,940 a year and half earn more. That is 27% less than the median for all full-time employees in the UK (£40,911).
Ranked by median, it is number 291 of the 362 occupations with a published figure.
At the median salary, take-home pay after Income Tax and National Insurance is about £2,090 a month in England, Wales or Northern Ireland and £2,093 in Scotland.
The median for men is £30,463 and for women £29,145, a gap of 4% in men's favour. This compares full-time salaries only and doesn't account for seniority or hours.
Percentiles
| Percentile | Annual | Monthly |
|---|---|---|
| 10th (P10) | x | x |
| 20th | £25,444 | £2,120 |
| 25th (P25) | £26,539 | £2,212 |
| 30th | £27,763 | £2,314 |
| 40th | £28,821 | £2,402 |
| Median (50th) | £29,940 | £2,495 |
| 60th | £30,961 | £2,580 |
| 70th | £32,189 | £2,682 |
| 75th (P75) | x | x |
| 80th | x | x |
| 90th (P90) | x | x |
Men and women
| Median | Mean | Jobs (thousands) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Men | £30,463 | £32,140 | x |
| Women | £29,145 | £30,062 | 5 |
Take-home pay at the median
| Where you live | Per year | Per month |
|---|---|---|
| England, Wales, NI | £25,076 | £2,090 |
| Scotland | £25,112 | £2,093 |
After Income Tax and National Insurance for 2026 to 2027, with the standard tax code and no pension or student loan. Work out your own take-home pay · Take-home pay on £30,000
Job titles in this occupation
ONS codes these 25 job titles to SOC 4135 Library clerks and assistants. Pay figures are for the whole occupation, not for each title.
- Abstractor
- Archive assistant
- Archives assistant
- Assistant
- Bibliographic assistant
- Bibliographic services assistant
- Book looker-out
- Chief assistant
- Clerical assistant
- Clerk
- Counter assistant
- Information assistant
- Learning resource assistant
- Learning resource facilitator
- Learning resources facilitator
- Library assistant
- Library attendant
- Library clerk
- Library shelving assistant
- Library supervisor
- Press clipper
- Press cutting agent
- Press cuttings clerk
- Reader
- Shelving assistant
Similar occupations
All jobs in Administrative and secretarial occupations
Source: ONS, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings 2026 provisional, Table 14.7a (full-time employees, gross annual pay, UK, tax year ending 5 April 2026). Provisional figures may be revised.