Types of Libraries

Salt Lake City (UT) Public Library

Do you really enjoy law? Medicine? Music? Working with college students? Working with people of all ages? Working with children? Below are general descriptions of the major types of libraries as well as other opportunities to consider:

• Academic libraries serve colleges and universities, their students, staff and faculty. Larger institutions may have several libraries on their campuses dedicated to serving particular schools such as law and science libraries. Many academic librarians become specialists in an area of knowledge and can have faculty status.
  
  
  For more information, visit the Association of College and Research Libraries' website.

• Public libraries serve communities of all sizes and types. Wherever you live, there's bound to be a local public library nearby! As the name implies, public libraries serve the general public, "from cradle to grave" as more than one public librarian has been heard to say. Public libraries often have departments that focus on areas of service, such as youth, teens and adults.
  
  
  For more information, visit the Public Library Association's website.

• School libraries are usually part of a school system, and serve students between Kindergarten and grade 12. Many are called media centers, and librarians are often required to have a second degree in education or a certificate in school media.
   
  
  For more information, visit the following websites:
•  American Association of School Librarians'
• Consider a Career as a School Librarian
  Developed by the University of South Carolina School of Library and Information Science
  
• Special libraries offer unique opportunities to work in a specialized environment of interest, such as corporations, hospitals, the military, museums, private businesses, and the government. Special libraries can serve particular populations, such as the blind and physically handicapped, while others are dedicated to special collections, such as the Library of Congress or a presidential library.
   
  
  For more information, visit the following websites:
• American Association of Law Libraries
• American Theological Library Association
• Art Libraries Society of North America
• Medical Library Association
• Music Library Association
• Special Libraries Association

• There are also other options to consider in pursuing a library career. These include library and information science instruction and research; a huge range of vendors, publishers and consultants who provide goods and services to libraries; as well as international opportunities.

  Can't decide? No problem, skip to Types of library jobs >>