Archivist to library manager
An archivist already meets 19% of what the library manager role asks for. The move turns on 15 required skills not yet in the profile.
78.9/ 100
1 How much of what a library manager 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 library manager role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A library manager role treats 3 of its required skills as things an archivist already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- collection management
- manage budgets
- recruit employees
What stands in the way is 15 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 7 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A library manager 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 collection management social sciences, journalism and information
- already held digital curation social sciences, journalism and information
- already held manage human resources management skills
- already held manage digital archives information skills
- already held use databases working with computers
- already held recruit employees management skills
All 7 carried skills, including the 3 the library manager role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 27 missing skills fall into 7 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 buy new library items required
- still to learn confer with library colleagues required
- still to learn negotiate library contracts required
- still to learn liaise with colleagues required
- still to learn train employees required
- optional, not held participate in school programs on libraries optional
- optional, not held assess informational needs optional
- optional, not held draw up professional texts optional
- still to learn arrange interlibrary loans required
- still to learn supervise daily library operations required
- still to learn coordinate operational activities required
- still to learn manage staff required
- still to learn supervise work required
- optional, not held apply change management optional
- optional, not held manage fundraising activities optional
- still to learn literature required
- still to learn types of literature genres required
- optional, not held music and video industry optional
- still to learn project management required
- optional, not held copyright legislation optional
- still to learn provide library information required
- still to learn manage digital libraries required
1 further area in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a library manager role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 arrange interlibrary loans practise this
- 02 buy new library items practise this
- 03 confer with library colleagues 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 7 skills that carry over
- already held collection management knowledge
- already held manage budgets skill
- already held recruit employees skill
- already held digital curation knowledge
- already held manage digital archives skill
- already held manage human resources skill
- already held use databases skill
The 1 learning area not shown above
- optional, not held analyse library users' queries optional
- optional, not held apply for library funding optional
- optional, not held classify library materials optional
- optional, not held evaluate library materials optional
- optional, not held organise information optional
12 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held participate in school programs on libraries optional
- optional, not held analyse library users' queries optional
- optional, not held apply for library funding optional
- optional, not held assess informational needs optional
- optional, not held classify library materials optional
- optional, not held draw up professional texts optional
- optional, not held evaluate library materials optional
- optional, not held apply change management optional
- optional, not held copyright legislation optional
- optional, not held manage fundraising activities optional
- optional, not held music and video industry optional
- optional, not held organise information optional
20 held skills the library manager 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 coordinate educational programmes skill
- not needed by the target role create semantic trees skill
- not needed by the target role develop classification systems skill
- not needed by the target role digitise documents skill
- not needed by the target role digitization knowledge
- 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 digital documents skill
- not needed by the target role manage information access aids skill
- not needed by the target role perform customer management 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 use software for data preservation skill
- not needed by the target role write scientific publications skill
5 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 project management required
- still to learn literature required
- still to learn types of literature genres required
- optional, not held copyright legislation optional
- optional, not held music and video industry optional
Common questions about this move
Can an archivist become a library manager?
Yes, and it is a career change move. An archivist already covers 19% of what a library manager is expected to do: 7 skills carry over, 3 of which the library manager role treats as required.
What skills does an archivist need to become a library manager?
15 required skills are missing, plus 12 optional ones. They fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is arrange interlibrary loans.
How hard is the move from archivist to library manager?
Its learning distance is 78.9 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.