Top 12 School Librarian Skills to Put on Your Resume

Crafting a compelling resume as a school librarian means surfacing a nimble mix of skills that shows how you manage resources, spark reading joy, and anchor instruction. Organizational rigor matters. So does digital fluency. Add people skills and instructional savvy. That combination makes you stand out in a crowded field.

School Librarian Skills

1. Cataloging
2. Dewey Decimal
3. MARC21
4. Follett Destiny
5. Information Literacy
6. Digital Archiving
7. Lexile Framework
8. OverDrive
9. Research Databases
10. Bibliographic Instruction
11. Collection Development
12. Copyright Compliance

1. Cataloging

Cataloging is the process of creating organized, descriptive records for library materials so users can find and retrieve what they need without hunting in the dark.

Why It's Important

It brings order to the collection, speeds up discovery for students and staff, and keeps the library’s knowledge map consistent over time.

How to Improve Cataloging Skills

Make it accurate. Make it consistent. Make it searchable.

1. Use recognized standards: Apply Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC) or Library of Congress Classification (LCC) with RDA description so records align across systems.
2. Adopt reliable tools: Lean on systems like Koha or Destiny Library Manager to streamline workflows and authority control.
3. Strengthen metadata: Follow Dublin Core elements where applicable; complete fields that boost discovery (subjects, summaries, audience, series).
4. Authority control: Standardize names, subjects, and series with Library of Congress Authorities or local authority files to eliminate duplicate variants.
5. Quality checks: Batch review new imports, fix typos, merge duplicates, and normalize call numbers—small cleanups pay big dividends.
6. User-centered interfaces: Configure search facets, kids’ views, and accessibility options so students find materials fast.
7. Keep learning: Track changes in RDA, subject headings updates, and local practices; share patterns with your district network.
8. Feedback loop: Ask teachers and students what’s hard to find and adjust subject terms or notes to match how they search.

How to Display Cataloging Skills on Your Resume

2. Dewey Decimal

The Dewey Decimal System is a numeric classification that groups materials by subject, assigning call numbers that bring order to the shelves and clarity to browsing.

Why It's Important

It’s a common language for organizing nonfiction so students and teachers can reliably locate what they need, lesson after lesson.

How to Improve Dewey Decimal Skills

1. Localize with care: Add sensible sublocations and subject cutters that mirror curriculum and student interests. Keep a written mapping so staff stay consistent.
2. Blend genrefication thoughtfully: For younger readers, consider genrefying fiction while maintaining clear wayfinding from the catalog to the shelf.
3. Upgrade wayfinding: Use bold signage, color cues, and age-appropriate examples that demystify sections (yes, even the 300s).
4. Tidy the stacks: Weed outdated items, shift crowded ranges, and realign mis-shelved books. A tidy shelf is a turbocharged search tool.
5. Teach the system: Brief, playful lessons and shelf scavenger hunts build student confidence and cut down on “Can you find…?” interruptions.
6. Stay current: Monitor Dewey updates and ensure your catalog reflects changes in subject treatment or expanding topics.

How to Display Dewey Decimal Skills on Your Resume

3. MARC21

MARC21 is a standardized format for bibliographic data that lets libraries create, share, and interpret records across platforms without losing meaning.

Why It's Important

Standardized records mean smoother imports, better searching, and resource sharing that actually works—vital in school districts and consortia.

How to Improve MARC21 Skills

1. Sharpen the fundamentals: Master key fields and indicators you use daily (title, series, subjects, audience, reading levels, notes).
2. Use batch tools: Tools like MarcEdit or your ILS’s global change features save hours on cleanup and upgrades.
3. Authority control: Apply and maintain authorities (personal names, subjects, series) to prevent fractured results.
4. Align with RDA: Ensure RDA elements are reflected in MARC for clearer, more future-friendly description.
5. Plan for linked data: Track BIBFRAME and related shifts so your data maps cleanly when your system evolves.
6. Integrate with instruction: Surface MARC fields (lexile, interest level, series) that help teachers pick just-right materials.
7. Share smart: Participate in copy cataloging networks and local sharing to reduce duplication and improve record quality.

How to Display MARC21 Skills on Your Resume

4. Follett Destiny

Follett Destiny is a school-focused library platform for cataloging, circulation, resource discovery, reporting, and digital content access.

Why It's Important

It centralizes daily work—checkouts, holds, inventory, analytics—while giving students a friendly discovery experience in one place.

How to Improve Follett Destiny Skills

1. Train deeply: Explore admin settings, collection analytics, global updates, and Discover customizations. Small tweaks change outcomes.
2. Integrate where possible: Connect with district authentication and your learning platform so students jump in with fewer clicks.
3. Promote Destiny Discover: Feature carousels (new, popular, curriculum-tied), student reviews, and curated collections that actually get clicked.
4. Tune metadata: Use consistent subjects, series statements, tags, and reading levels so discovery pulls the right titles to the top.
5. Use reports strategically: Track circulation by grade or subject, identify gaps, and inform purchases with evidence (not guesswork).
6. Collect feedback: Ask students and teachers what’s hard to find and adjust search facets or landing pages accordingly.

How to Display Follett Destiny Skills on Your Resume

5. Information Literacy

Information Literacy is the ability to define a need, find credible sources, evaluate them with discernment, and use information ethically and effectively.

Why It's Important

Students who can question, verify, synthesize, and cite become confident learners and responsible digital citizens. That echoes far beyond the classroom.

How to Improve Information Literacy Skills

1. Build a progressive curriculum: Spiral skills across grades—questioning, keywords, evaluation, synthesis, citation—aligned to AASL standards.
2. Teach source evaluation: Lateral reading, bias spotting, author credentials, currency, and purpose. Make it hands-on and messy.
3. Use real tools: Databases, advanced search, citation generators, note-taking systems. Practice beats lectures.
4. Embed in projects: Co-plan research tasks with teachers so information skills are essential to success, not an add-on.
5. Model ethical use: Clear mini-lessons on plagiarism, copyright, Creative Commons, and fair attribution.
6. Check for growth: Quick exit tickets, rubrics, and reflections to see what stuck and what needs reteaching.

How to Display Information Literacy Skills on Your Resume

6. Digital Archiving

Digital archiving preserves documents, media, and web content so it remains authentic, accessible, and usable over time.

Why It's Important

School history, student work, and instructional materials deserve to endure. A well-run archive turns today’s files into tomorrow’s record.

How to Improve Digital Archiving Skills

1. Adopt metadata standards: Use consistent, descriptive fields (e.g., Dublin Core elements) for discovery and context.
2. Choose sustainable formats: Prefer open, well-documented formats; plan migrations before formats vanish.
3. Back up smart: Follow the 3-2-1 rule—three copies, two different media, one offsite. Test restores regularly.
4. Use the right platform: Select a tool suited to schools with clear roles, batch ingest, and export options.
5. Preserve integrity: Apply checksums, versioning, and basic fixity checks to catch silent corruption.
6. Mind privacy: Protect student data; align with local regulations and district policies.
7. Teach the archive: Short guides for staff and students on contributing, describing, and citing digital items.

How to Display Digital Archiving Skills on Your Resume

7. Lexile Framework

The Lexile Framework measures reader ability and text complexity on a common scale, helping match students to just-right books.

Why It's Important

Smart matching supports growth and confidence. The right stretch text can make a reluctant reader lean in instead of checking out.

How to Improve Lexile Framework Skills

1. Balance the collection: Ensure a healthy spread of levels across genres, formats, and interests.
2. Use, don’t limit: Pair Lexiles with professional judgment and student choice. Reading joy matters.
3. Personalize: Recommend titles by level, topic, and format preferences (audiobook, graphic, short stories).
4. Collaborate with teachers: Align independent reading and classroom texts to support steady growth.
5. Track progress thoughtfully: Use reading data to nudge students forward while keeping access broad.
6. Diversify measures: Where helpful, reference other frameworks (e.g., Guided Reading, ATOS) to give a fuller picture.

How to Display Lexile Framework Skills on Your Resume

8. OverDrive

OverDrive delivers ebooks and audiobooks to schools, with the Sora app tailored for students and educators.

Why It's Important

Anytime, anywhere access fuels reading. On the bus, at home, during study hall—books go where students go.

How to Improve OverDrive Skills

1. Curate with intent: Build collections for courses, clubs, languages, accessibility, and popular interests. Update often.
2. Promote relentlessly: Feature new drops, seasonal picks, and teacher recommendations in newsletters and on campus screens.
3. Teach the tech: Quick demos, printable how-tos, and class visits lower the barrier for first-timers.
4. Leverage features: Use assignments, notes, bookmarks, and reading stats to support instruction.
5. Purchase strategically: Mix metered and simultaneous-use titles; add class sets for anchor texts.
6. Collect feedback: Let circulation and student voice guide your next order.

How to Display OverDrive Skills on Your Resume

9. Research Databases

Research databases provide reliable, curated articles, journals, reference works, and media—academic fuel without the noise.

Why It's Important

Students learn to find credible information fast, cite it properly, and build arguments rooted in real evidence.

How to Improve Research Databases Skills

1. Align to curriculum: Select databases that map to subjects and grade levels; prune what doesn’t earn its keep.
2. Simplify access: Enable single sign-on and mobile-friendly entry points; put links where students actually click.
3. Teach search craft: Keywords, Boolean logic, filters, subject terms, and citation tools—practice beats theory.
4. Create guides: Short, visual pathfinders for common projects reduce repeat questions.
5. Measure and adjust: Review usage stats, ask teachers what’s missing, and shift subscriptions accordingly.
6. Supplement smartly: Add reputable open-access sources to widen coverage without stretching budgets.

How to Display Research Databases Skills on Your Resume

10. Bibliographic Instruction

Bibliographic Instruction teaches students how to navigate catalogs, databases, and citations—finding, judging, and using sources with purpose.

Why It's Important

It cultivates independent learners who can investigate, verify, and communicate clearly. That’s academic power.

How to Improve Bibliographic Instruction Skills

1. Embed in real work: Tie instruction to current projects so skills are immediately useful.
2. Go active: Station rotations, scavenger hunts, and mini research sprints beat long lectures.
3. Co-teach: Plan with teachers; split roles during lessons; align outcomes and rubrics.
4. Scaffold and iterate: Revisit skills with increasing complexity across grades; keep exemplars handy.
5. Assess quickly: One-minute reflections, targeted checklists, and annotated bibliographies reveal what to reteach.
6. Center inclusion: Provide diverse examples and multiple formats so every learner sees a way in.

How to Display Bibliographic Instruction Skills on Your Resume

11. Collection Development

Collection development is the art and policy-driven practice of selecting, acquiring, organizing, evaluating, and refreshing materials to serve curriculum and foster reading lives.

Why It's Important

A responsive, diverse, and current collection meets instructional needs and invites students to explore, reflect, and grow.

How to Improve Collection Development Skills

1. Start with data: Use circulation stats, holds, teacher requests, and student suggestions to steer purchasing.
2. Ensure representation: Curate voices across identities, formats, languages, and experiences. Windows, mirrors, and sliding doors—intentionally.
3. Keep it fresh: Track review sources and award lists; replace worn favorites; add high-interest, high-circulation genres.
4. Balance formats: Print, ebooks, audiobooks, graphic novels, hi-lo, large print—meet readers where they are.
5. Write the policy: Maintain a clear selection and reconsideration policy grounded in professional standards.
6. Weed with purpose: Apply a consistent approach (condition, currency, usage, accuracy) to keep shelves relevant.
7. Budget transparently: Allocate by subject, level, and need; document choices to support equity and continuity.

How to Display Collection Development Skills on Your Resume

12. Copyright Compliance

Copyright compliance means using, sharing, and reproducing materials within the bounds of the law—respecting creators while supporting instruction.

Why It's Important

It protects the school, models ethics, and teaches students to create and attribute responsibly.

How to Improve Copyright Compliance Skills

1. Know the basics: Understand fair use, public domain, Creative Commons, and the TEACH Act as they apply to K–12.
2. Create clear guidelines: Write school-friendly procedures for copying, scanning, streaming, and posting.
3. Teach it: Short, timely mini-lessons for staff and students—especially before big projects.
4. Prefer licensed or open content: Use resources with classroom permissions or open licenses when possible.
5. Track permissions: Keep records of licenses and approvals; note expiry dates and usage limits.
6. Review routinely: Revisit policies each year to reflect changes in law, licensing, or district practice.

How to Display Copyright Compliance Skills on Your Resume