Library manager to librarian
A library manager already meets 50% of what the librarian role asks for. The move turns on 6 required skills not yet in the profile.
56.2/ 100
1 How much of what a librarian is expected to do is already part of a library 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 9 of its required skills as things a library manager already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- analyse library users' queries
- arrange interlibrary loans
- assess informational needs
- buy new library items
- classify library materials
- collection management
What stands in the way is 6 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 24 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 a library manager background worth leading with.
- already held negotiate library contracts communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held supervise daily library operations management skills
- already held analyse library users' queries information skills
- already held buy new library items communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held classify library materials information skills
- already held provide library information assisting and caring
All 24 carried skills, including the 9 the librarian role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 30 missing skills fall into 10 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 conduct scholarly research required
- optional, not held compile library lists optional
- optional, not held create semantic trees optional
- optional, not held develop classification systems optional
- optional, not held manage information access aids optional
- still to learn perform customer management 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
- still to learn develop solutions to information issues required
- 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
- optional, not held digitization optional
- optional, not held assist in library facility planning optional
- optional, not held develop artistic educational activities optional
- optional, not held assist in the organisation of school events optional
- optional, not held coordinate educational programmes optional
- optional, not held oversee extra-curricular activities optional
4 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 conduct scholarly research 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 24 skills that carry over
- already held analyse library users' queries skill
- already held arrange interlibrary loans skill
- already held assess informational needs skill
- already held buy new library items skill
- already held classify library materials skill
- already held collection management knowledge
- already held manage digital libraries skill
- already held negotiate library contracts skill
- already held provide library information skill
- already held apply for library funding skill
- already held confer with library colleagues skill
- already held copyright legislation knowledge
- already held digital curation knowledge
- already held draw up professional texts skill
- already held literature knowledge
- already held manage digital archives skill
- already held manage fundraising activities skill
- already held manage human resources skill
- already held music and video industry knowledge
- already held organise information skill
- already held recruit employees skill
- already held supervise daily library operations skill
- already held types of literature genres knowledge
- already held use databases skill
The 4 learning areas not shown above
- optional, not held digitise documents optional
- optional, not held use software for data preservation optional
- optional, not held musical genres optional
- optional, not held secondary school procedures optional
- optional, not held maintain library equipment optional
24 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held assist students with library operations optional
- optional, not held assist in library facility planning optional
- optional, not held compile library lists optional
- optional, not held create semantic trees optional
- optional, not held develop artistic educational activities optional
- optional, not held develop classification systems optional
- optional, not held maintain library equipment optional
- optional, not held manage information access aids optional
- optional, not held post-secondary school procedures optional
- optional, not held select new library items to acquire 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 digitise documents 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 musical genres 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 use software for data preservation optional
10 held skills the librarian role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role apply change management skill
- not needed by the target role coordinate operational activities skill
- not needed by the target role evaluate library materials skill
- not needed by the target role liaise with colleagues skill
- not needed by the target role manage budgets skill
- not needed by the target role manage staff skill
- not needed by the target role participate in school programs on libraries skill
- not needed by the target role project management knowledge
- not needed by the target role supervise work skill
- not needed by the target role train employees skill
8 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 scientific research methodology required
- optional, not held post-secondary school procedures optional
- optional, not held digitization optional
- optional, not held kindergarten school procedures optional
- optional, not held musical genres optional
- optional, not held primary school procedures optional
- optional, not held secondary school procedures optional
Common questions about this move
Can a library manager become a librarian?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A library manager already covers 50% of what a librarian is expected to do: 24 skills carry over, 9 of which the librarian role treats as required.
What skills does a library manager need to become a librarian?
6 required skills are missing, plus 24 optional ones. They fall into 10 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 library manager to librarian?
Its learning distance is 56.2 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.