Will AI replace Library Technicians?
AI reaches a large part of this job’s work.
51/100
High exposure
More exposed to AI than 81% of US workers.
- AI already used in
- 8% of the work
- As AI tools mature: up to
- 76% of the work
What the job involves
Assist librarians by helping readers in the use of library catalogs, databases, and indexes to locate books and other materials; and by answering questions that require only brief consultation of standard reference. Compile records; sort and shelve books or other media; remove or repair damaged books or other media; register patrons; and check materials in and out of the circulation process. Replace materials in shelving area (stacks) or files. Includes bookmobile drivers who assist with providing services in mobile libraries.
Where AI reaches the work
The job’s main tasks, heaviest first, by how far AI reaches them.
Already happening(4)
- Conduct reference searches, using printed materials and in-house and online databases.
- Retrieve information from central databases for storage in a library's computer.
- Compose explanatory summaries of contents of books and other reference materials.
- Compile bibliographies and prepare abstracts on subjects of interest to particular organizations or groups.
Within reach(19)
- Help patrons find and use library resources, such as reference materials, audio-visual equipment, computers, and other electronic resources and provide technical assistance when needed.
- Reserve, circulate, renew, and discharge books and other materials.
- Answer routine telephone or in-person reference inquiries, referring patrons to librarians for further assistance, when necessary.
- Enter and update patrons' records on computers.
- Maintain and troubleshoot problems with library equipment, including computers, photocopiers, and audio-visual equipment.
and 14 more
Out of reach(8)
- Deliver and retrieve items throughout the library by hand or using pushcart.
- Check for damaged library materials, such as books or audio-visual equipment, and provide replacements or make repairs.
- Train other staff, volunteers, or student assistants and schedule and supervise their work.
- Issue identification cards to borrowers.
- Sort and deliver library mail and packages.
and 3 more
Also called
Library Technical Assistant (LTA) · Bookmobile Driver · LTA · Library Media Technician · Library Specialist · Library Technician · Accessioner · Audio-Visual Aide
Related jobs
What these numbers mean
The score is the share of this job’s work, weighted by how important and frequent each task is, that AI could do in half the time: tasks an AI model could do alone count in full, tasks that need software built on AI count half.
“AI already used” is the share of the work in tasks where people are recorded using AI today. “As AI tools mature” counts every task AI could halve, with or without extra software.
The percentile compares the score with every job’s, weighted by how many people in the US do each one. Exposure means AI could change how the work is done, not that the job goes away. These are estimates for the typical job, not predictions.
Sources
- O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration
- GPTs are GPTs: Labor market impact potential of LLMs (task labels), Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin & Rock (2023), OpenAI and University of Pennsylvania
- Anthropic Economic Index: labor market impacts (task penetration), Anthropic
- Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (national and metropolitan areas), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics