Information manager to librarian
An information manager already meets 23% of what the librarian role asks for. The move turns on 11 required skills not yet in the profile.
79.4/ 100
1 How much of what a librarian is expected to do is already part of an information manager’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 4 of its required skills as things an information manager already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- assess informational needs
- develop solutions to information issues
- manage digital libraries
- perform customer management
What stands in the way is 11 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 11 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 information manager background worth leading with.
- already held develop solutions to information issues communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held manage digital libraries working with computers
- already held manage information access aids information skills
- already held assess informational needs communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held create semantic trees information skills
- already held use software for data preservation working with computers
All 11 carried skills, including the 4 the librarian role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 43 missing skills fall into 9 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 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 develop classification systems optional
- optional, not held manage digital archives optional
- optional, not held organise information optional
- still to learn buy new library items required
- still to learn negotiate library contracts 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 information governance compliance required
- still to learn collection management required
- optional, not held digital curation optional
- optional, not held digitization 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 coordinate educational programmes optional
- optional, not held manage fundraising activities optional
- optional, not held manage human resources 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
3 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 11 skills that carry over
- already held assess informational needs skill
- already held develop solutions to information issues skill
- already held manage digital libraries skill
- already held perform customer management skill
- already held copyright legislation knowledge
- already held create semantic trees skill
- already held digitise documents 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 3 learning areas not shown above
- 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 secondary school procedures optional
- optional, not held maintain library equipment optional
32 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held assist students with library operations optional
- optional, not held digital curation 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 develop classification systems optional
- optional, not held draw up professional texts optional
- optional, not held maintain library equipment optional
- optional, not held manage digital archives 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 coordinate educational programmes optional
- optional, not held digitization 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 manage human resources 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
19 held skills the librarian role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role analyse big data skill
- not needed by the target role analyse information systems skill
- not needed by the target role cooperate to resolve information issues skill
- not needed by the target role corporate sustainability knowledge
- not needed by the target role data quality assessment knowledge
- not needed by the target role design information system skill
- not needed by the target role develop information standards skill
- not needed by the target role develop organisational information goals skill
- not needed by the target role evaluate project plans skill
- not needed by the target role knowledge base knowledge
- not needed by the target role maintain information network hardware skill
- not needed by the target role manage budgets skill
- not needed by the target role manage data skill
- not needed by the target role manage digital documents skill
- not needed by the target role manage digital identity skill
- not needed by the target role manage schedule of tasks skill
- not needed by the target role organisational learning knowledge
- not needed by the target role perform data mining skill
- not needed by the target role supervise daily information operations skill
13 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 collection management required
- still to learn scientific research methodology required
- optional, not held digital curation optional
- optional, not held post-secondary school procedures optional
- optional, not held digitization 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
Other moves recorded from information manager
Common questions about this move
Can an information manager become a librarian?
Yes, and it is a career change move. An information manager already covers 23% of what a librarian is expected to do: 11 skills carry over, 4 of which the librarian role treats as required.
What skills does an information manager need to become a librarian?
11 required skills are missing, plus 32 optional ones. They fall into 9 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by information skills. The single most important is evaluate information services using metrics.
How hard is the move from information manager to librarian?
Its learning distance is 79.4 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.