Library assistant to archivist
A library assistant already meets 25% of what the archivist role asks for. The move turns on 12 required skills not yet in the profile.
74/ 100
1 How much of what an archivist is expected to do is already part of a library assistant’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 archivist role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
An archivist role treats 3 of its required skills as things a library assistant already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- collection management
- create semantic trees
- digitization
What stands in the way is 12 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 8 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. An archivist role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a library assistant background worth leading with.
- already held collection management social sciences, journalism and information
- already held create semantic trees information skills
- already held develop classification systems information skills
- already held use software for data preservation working with computers
- already held digitization social sciences, journalism and information
- already held digitise documents working with computers
All 8 carried skills, including the 3 the archivist role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 19 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- still to learn appraise historical documents required
- still to learn facilitate access to information required
- still to learn manage digital archives required
- still to learn perform records management required
- still to learn study a collection required
- optional, not held manage information access aids optional
- still to learn aid archive users with their enquiries required
- still to learn respect data protection principles required
- optional, not held perform customer management optional
- still to learn contextualise records collection required
- still to learn write scientific publications required
- still to learn manage archive users guidelines required
- optional, not held coordinate educational programmes optional
- optional, not held manage budgets optional
- optional, not held manage human resources optional
- optional, not held recruit employees optional
- still to learn conservation techniques required
- still to learn store archival documents required
1 further area in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries an archivist role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 aid archive users with their enquiries practise this
- 02 appraise historical documents practise this
- 03 contextualise records collection 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 8 skills that carry over
- already held collection management knowledge
- already held create semantic trees skill
- already held digitization knowledge
- already held develop classification systems skill
- already held digitise documents skill
- already held manage digital documents skill
- already held use databases skill
- already held use software for data preservation skill
The 1 learning area not shown above
- optional, not held digital curation optional
7 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held digital curation optional
- optional, not held manage information access aids optional
- optional, not held coordinate educational programmes optional
- optional, not held manage budgets optional
- optional, not held manage human resources optional
- optional, not held perform customer management optional
- optional, not held recruit employees optional
24 held skills the archivist role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role analyse library users' queries skill
- not needed by the target role apply for library funding skill
- not needed by the target role arrange interlibrary loans skill
- not needed by the target role assess informational needs skill
- not needed by the target role assist in library facility planning skill
- not needed by the target role buy new library items skill
- not needed by the target role classify library materials skill
- not needed by the target role compile library lists skill
- not needed by the target role confer with library colleagues skill
- not needed by the target role copyright legislation knowledge
- not needed by the target role develop solutions to information issues skill
- not needed by the target role display library material skill
- not needed by the target role evaluate library materials skill
- not needed by the target role instruct library users in digital literacy skill
- not needed by the target role literature knowledge
- not needed by the target role maintain library equipment skill
- not needed by the target role maintain library inventory skill
- not needed by the target role manage digital libraries skill
- not needed by the target role manage library users queries skill
- not needed by the target role manage overdue library materials skill
- not needed by the target role organise information skill
- not needed by the target role organise library material skill
- not needed by the target role provide library information skill
- not needed by the target role select new library items to acquire skill
2 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 conservation techniques required
- optional, not held digital curation optional
Other moves recorded from library assistant
Common questions about this move
Can a library assistant become an archivist?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A library assistant already covers 25% of what an archivist is expected to do: 8 skills carry over, 3 of which the archivist role treats as required.
What skills does a library assistant need to become an archivist?
12 required skills are missing, plus 7 optional ones. They fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by information skills. The single most important is aid archive users with their enquiries.
How hard is the move from library assistant to archivist?
Its learning distance is 74 out of 100, which is the substantial 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.