Information manager to library assistant
An information manager already meets 23% of what the library assistant role asks for. The move turns on 11 required skills not yet in the profile.
76.5/ 100
1 How much of what a library assistant 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 library assistant role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A library assistant role treats 2 of its required skills as things an information manager already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- assess informational needs
- copyright legislation
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 9 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A library assistant 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 assess informational needs communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held create semantic trees information skills
- already held use software for data preservation working with computers
- already held digitise documents working with computers
All 9 carried skills, including the 2 the library assistant role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 23 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 maintain library inventory required
- still to learn manage library users queries required
- still to learn organise library material required
- still to learn analyse library users' queries required
- still to learn classify library materials required
- still to learn organise information 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 evaluate library materials optional
- optional, not held manage overdue library materials optional
- still to learn display library material required
- still to learn instruct library users in digital literacy required
- optional, not held buy new library items optional
- optional, not held confer with library colleagues optional
- optional, not held select new library items to acquire optional
- still to learn arrange interlibrary loans required
- optional, not held assist in library facility planning optional
- still to learn provide library information required
- still to learn maintain library equipment required
- optional, not held collection management optional
- optional, not held digitization optional
1 further area in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a library assistant role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 display library material practise this
- 02 instruct library users in digital literacy practise this
- 03 maintain library inventory 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 9 skills that carry over
- already held assess informational needs skill
- already held copyright legislation knowledge
- already held create semantic trees skill
- already held develop solutions to information issues skill
- already held digitise documents skill
- already held manage digital documents skill
- already held manage digital libraries skill
- already held use databases skill
- already held use software for data preservation skill
The 1 learning area not shown above
- optional, not held literature optional
12 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held apply for library funding optional
- optional, not held assist in library facility planning optional
- optional, not held buy new library items optional
- optional, not held collection management optional
- optional, not held compile library lists optional
- optional, not held confer with library colleagues optional
- optional, not held develop classification systems optional
- optional, not held evaluate library materials optional
- optional, not held manage overdue library materials optional
- optional, not held select new library items to acquire optional
- optional, not held digitization optional
- optional, not held literature optional
21 held skills the library assistant 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 identity skill
- not needed by the target role manage information access aids 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 customer management skill
- not needed by the target role perform data mining skill
- not needed by the target role recruit employees skill
- not needed by the target role supervise daily information operations skill
3 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- optional, not held collection management optional
- optional, not held digitization optional
- optional, not held literature optional
Other moves recorded from information manager
Common questions about this move
Can an information manager become a library assistant?
Yes, and it is a career change move. An information manager already covers 23% of what a library assistant is expected to do: 9 skills carry over, 2 of which the library assistant role treats as required.
What skills does an information manager need to become a library assistant?
11 required skills are missing, plus 12 optional ones. They fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by information skills. The single most important is display library material.
How hard is the move from information manager to library assistant?
Its learning distance is 76.5 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.