Archivist to librarian
An archivist already meets 22% of what the librarian role asks for. The move turns on 13 required skills not yet in the profile.
80/ 100
1 How much of what a librarian is expected to do is already part of an archivist’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the librarian role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A librarian role treats 2 of its required skills as things an archivist already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- collection management
- perform customer management
What stands in the way is 13 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 14 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A librarian role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of an archivist background worth leading with.
- already held manage information access aids information skills
- already held collection management social sciences, journalism and information
- already held create semantic trees information skills
- already held digital curation social sciences, journalism and information
- already held develop classification systems information skills
- already held use software for data preservation working with computers
All 14 carried skills, including the 2 the librarian role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 40 missing skills fall into 10 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn assess informational needs required
- still to learn buy new library items required
- still to learn negotiate library contracts required
- still to learn develop solutions to information issues required
- optional, not held confer with library colleagues optional
- optional, not held draw up professional texts optional
- optional, not held select new library items to acquire optional
- optional, not held apply social media marketing optional
- still to learn evaluate information services using metrics required
- still to learn analyse library users' queries required
- still to learn classify library materials required
- still to learn conduct scholarly research required
- optional, not held apply for library funding optional
- optional, not held compile library lists optional
- optional, not held organise information optional
- still to learn arrange interlibrary loans required
- optional, not held assist in library facility planning optional
- optional, not held develop artistic educational activities optional
- optional, not held supervise daily library operations optional
- optional, not held assist in the organisation of school events optional
- optional, not held manage fundraising activities optional
- optional, not held oversee extra-curricular activities optional
- still to learn provide library information required
- optional, not held assist students with library operations optional
- optional, not held escort students on a field trip optional
- optional, not held guarantee students' safety optional
- optional, not held perform playground surveillance optional
- still to learn scientific research methodology required
- optional, not held post-secondary school procedures optional
- optional, not held kindergarten school procedures optional
- optional, not held primary school procedures optional
- still to learn information governance compliance required
4 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a librarian role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 evaluate information services using metrics practise this
- 02 information governance compliance study this
- 03 analyse library users' queries practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 14 skills that carry over
- already held collection management knowledge
- already held perform customer management skill
- already held coordinate educational programmes skill
- already held create semantic trees skill
- already held develop classification systems skill
- already held digital curation knowledge
- already held digitise documents skill
- already held digitization knowledge
- already held manage digital archives skill
- already held manage human resources skill
- already held manage information access aids skill
- already held recruit employees skill
- already held use databases skill
- already held use software for data preservation skill
The 4 learning areas not shown above
- still to learn manage digital libraries required
- optional, not held literature optional
- optional, not held music and video industry optional
- optional, not held musical genres optional
- optional, not held types of literature genres optional
- optional, not held copyright legislation optional
- optional, not held secondary school procedures optional
- optional, not held maintain library equipment optional
27 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held assist students with library operations optional
- optional, not held apply for library funding optional
- optional, not held assist in library facility planning optional
- optional, not held compile library lists optional
- optional, not held confer with library colleagues optional
- optional, not held develop artistic educational activities optional
- optional, not held draw up professional texts optional
- optional, not held maintain library equipment optional
- optional, not held post-secondary school procedures optional
- optional, not held select new library items to acquire optional
- optional, not held supervise daily library operations optional
- optional, not held apply social media marketing optional
- optional, not held assist in the organisation of school events optional
- optional, not held copyright legislation optional
- optional, not held escort students on a field trip optional
- optional, not held guarantee students' safety optional
- optional, not held kindergarten school procedures optional
- optional, not held literature optional
- optional, not held manage fundraising activities optional
- optional, not held music and video industry optional
- optional, not held musical genres optional
- optional, not held organise information optional
- optional, not held oversee extra-curricular activities optional
- optional, not held perform playground surveillance optional
- optional, not held primary school procedures optional
- optional, not held secondary school procedures optional
- optional, not held types of literature genres optional
13 held skills the librarian role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role aid archive users with their enquiries skill
- not needed by the target role appraise historical documents skill
- not needed by the target role conservation techniques knowledge
- not needed by the target role contextualise records collection skill
- not needed by the target role facilitate access to information skill
- not needed by the target role manage archive users guidelines skill
- not needed by the target role manage budgets skill
- not needed by the target role manage digital documents skill
- not needed by the target role perform records management skill
- not needed by the target role respect data protection principles skill
- not needed by the target role store archival documents skill
- not needed by the target role study a collection skill
- not needed by the target role write scientific publications skill
11 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn information governance compliance required
- still to learn scientific research methodology required
- optional, not held post-secondary school procedures optional
- optional, not held copyright legislation optional
- optional, not held kindergarten school procedures optional
- optional, not held literature optional
- optional, not held music and video industry optional
- optional, not held musical genres optional
- optional, not held primary school procedures optional
- optional, not held secondary school procedures optional
- optional, not held types of literature genres optional
Common questions about this move
Can an archivist become a librarian?
Yes, and it is a career change move. An archivist already covers 22% of what a librarian is expected to do: 14 skills carry over, 2 of which the librarian role treats as required.
What skills does an archivist need to become a librarian?
13 required skills are missing, plus 27 optional ones. They fall into 10 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is evaluate information services using metrics.
How hard is the move from archivist to librarian?
Its learning distance is 80 out of 100, which is the career change band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.