Information manager to library manager
An information manager already meets 17% of what the library manager role asks for. The move turns on 15 required skills not yet in the profile.
80.2/ 100
1 How much of what a library manager 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 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 information manager already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- manage budgets
- manage digital libraries
- 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 6 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 information manager background worth leading with.
- already held manage digital libraries working with computers
- already held assess informational needs communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held use databases working with computers
- already held copyright legislation business, administration and law
- already held recruit employees management skills
- already held manage budgets management skills
All 6 carried skills, including the 3 the library manager role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 28 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 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
- optional, not held manage human resources optional
- 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 draw up professional texts 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 collection management required
- optional, not held digital curation optional
- still to learn provide library information required
- still to learn project management 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 collection management study this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 6 skills that carry over
- already held manage budgets skill
- already held manage digital libraries skill
- already held recruit employees skill
- already held assess informational needs skill
- already held copyright legislation knowledge
- 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 manage digital archives optional
- optional, not held organise information optional
13 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held digital curation optional
- 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 classify library materials optional
- optional, not held draw up professional texts optional
- optional, not held evaluate library materials optional
- optional, not held manage digital archives optional
- optional, not held apply change management 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 organise information optional
24 held skills the library manager 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 create semantic trees skill
- 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 develop solutions to information issues skill
- not needed by the target role digitise documents 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 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 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 supervise daily information operations skill
- not needed by the target role use software for data preservation skill
6 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 collection management required
- still to learn project management required
- still to learn literature required
- still to learn types of literature genres required
- optional, not held digital curation optional
- optional, not held music and video industry optional
Other moves recorded from information manager
Common questions about this move
Can an information manager become a library manager?
Yes, and it is a career change move. An information manager already covers 17% of what a library manager is expected to do: 6 skills carry over, 3 of which the library manager role treats as required.
What skills does an information manager need to become a library manager?
15 required skills are missing, plus 13 optional ones. They fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by management skills. The single most important is arrange interlibrary loans.
How hard is the move from information manager to library manager?
Its learning distance is 80.2 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.