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Librarians and curators

How to become a Librarian

Collects, organises and preserves materials in libraries and reference rooms, provides materials and information, and helps people looking for information.

Main tasks

Workers in this job say university is common. From job tag's survey of people in each job, who could give several answers. It shows what workers see as common, not how many workers hold each level.

How to become one

To gain the librarian (or assistant librarian) qualification under the Library Act, you must take the required subjects at university or attend a librarian training course. Some universities offer distance study. To work as a librarian at a public library or public university, you must pass a local government public service exam. Some councils hold a specialist exam that assumes the librarian qualification and hire straight into libraries, while others hire people through the general administrative exam and then post them to a library. Some people also work as librarians at public libraries by joining companies contracted by councils to run library services. To work as a school librarian at a school library, you must meet the requirements set by each council, such as a librarian qualification, a teacher-librarian qualification, a teaching licence or relevant work experience, and then apply for a school librarian vacancy and be hired. Teacher-librarians at school libraries are chosen from senior teachers, lead teachers or teachers. For national university libraries you sit the recruitment exam run by the university corporation, and at private universities you sit the staff recruitment exam. The first thing librarians need is knowledge of library and information science, and being strong with computers or foreign languages is a further advantage. To look through a wide range and large amount of material and classify and record it accurately, you also need intellectual curiosity, a good memory and the stamina for repetitive classification work.

Ways in

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Questions people ask

How do I become a Librarian?

To gain the librarian (or assistant librarian) qualification under the Library Act, you must take the required subjects at university or attend a librarian training course. Some universities offer distance study. To work as a librarian at a public library or public university, you must pass a local government public service exam. Some councils hold a specialist exam that assumes the librarian qualification and hire straight into libraries, while others hire people through the general administrative exam and then post them to a library. Some people also work as librarians at public libraries by joining companies contracted by councils to run library services. To work as a school librarian at a school library, you must meet the requirements set by each council, such as a librarian qualification, a teacher-librarian qualification, a teaching licence or relevant work experience, and then apply for a school librarian vacancy and be hired. Teacher-librarians at school libraries are chosen from senior teachers, lead teachers or teachers. For national university libraries you sit the recruitment exam run by the university corporation, and at private universities you sit the staff recruitment exam. The first thing librarians need is knowledge of library and information science, and being strong with computers or foreign languages is a further advantage. To look through a wide range and large amount of material and classify and record it accurately, you also need intellectual curiosity, a good memory and the stamina for repetitive classification work.

How much does a Librarian earn in Japan?

Average annual income in the private sector, bonus included, is ¥5,833,100 (Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare). The figure is for the wage survey group Specialist professionals not classified elsewhere, which covers several jobs.

Do you need a degree to become a Librarian?

Usually. In this job's census occupation group, 77% of workers are university graduates.

Will AI change the work of a Librarian?

Generative AI could change many tasks in this job, which usually reshapes the work more than it replaces it, by the ILO's global estimate.

Sources

独立行政法人労働政策研究・研修機構（JILPT）作成 職業情報データベース 解説系ダウンロードデータ（IPD_DL_description_7_01.xlsx）ver.7.01 職業情報提供サイト（job tag）より2026年10月4日にダウンロード（https://shigoto.mhlw.go.jp/User/download）を加工して作成

独立行政法人労働政策研究・研修機構（JILPT）作成 職業情報データベース 簡易版数値系ダウンロードデータ（IPD_DL_numeric_7_00.xlsx）ver.7.00 職業情報提供サイト（job tag）より2026年10月4日にダウンロード（https://shigoto.mhlw.go.jp/User/download）を加工して作成

Sources: JILPT Occupational Information Database download data via job tag (解説系 ver.7.01 and 簡易版数値系 ver.7.00, downloaded 4 October 2026), processed by Peernovo; MHLW, Basic Survey on Wage Structure 2025; Statistics Bureau of Japan, 2020 Population Census; MEXT, School Basic Survey 2025; MHLW, Employment Referrals for General Workers (Hello Work statistics). Figures processed by Peernovo. English job names, translations and the matching of jobs to statistical groups, schools and degree fields by Peernovo.

Updated 4 October 2026