Library and Public Archive Technicians

(NOC 5211)

in All Art, Culture, Recreation and Sport

Library and public archive technicians help users access library or archive resources, help describe new acquisitions, participate in archive processing and storage, and conduct reference searches. They work for libraries, public archives, and schools.

Job Outlook

Average

Estimate Stable employment change, 2021-2023
Estimate 30 openings due to growth and retirements, 2021-2023
Estimate Low rate of unemployment in 2022

Compared to: All Art, Culture, Recreation and Sport

Estimate 840 employment change, 2021-2023
Estimate 1495 openings due to growth and retirements, 2021-2023
Estimate rate of unemployment not available for these occupation.

Hourly Pay

$21.83

Minimum

$25.00

Median

$30.84

Maximum

Annual Pay

$10,102

Minimum

$33,816

Median

$45,992

Maximum

Compared to: All Art, Culture, Recreation and Sport

Hourly Pay

$13.00

Minimum

$21.00

Median

$40.00

Maximum

Annual Pay

$945

Minimum

$11,712

Median

$60,447

Maximum

About the job

Nature of work

Job duties

Library technicians:

Help library users access books, films, photographs, maps, documents, electronic materials, and other library materials.
Catalogue new library acquisitions under the direction of a librarian.
Perform manual and on-line reference searches and make interlibrary loans for users.
Help librarians give tours and provide children's and other specialized library programs.

Public archive technicians:

Help develop inventories, forms, and finding aids.
Implement and update classification plans and records scheduling and disposal plans.
Apply standards and policies for storage of records and archival materials.
Codify and classify archival materials.
Put archival materials on microfilm or in databases.
Transfer materials from current to semi-current status or put into permanent storage.
Purge, sort, reduce and sample archives.
Research and retrieve archival materials.
Participate in instructing and helping users.
Make sure that proper procedures are followed in the use of computerized document management systems.

Sample job titles

archival management technician
archive assistant
archive technician
assistant music librarian
cataloguing technician
library support specialist
library technician
school librarian
technical indexer - library

Skills

You should be patient and organized, and have good research skills. Both oral and written communication skills are essential. You must be able to work unsupervised with library or museum users, and cooperate with co-workers. Good computer skills and knowledge about audiovisual equipment are strongly recommended. Knowledge of literature is also an asset.

Job requirements

Library technicians usually require completion of a two- to three-year college program in library and information technology.
Public archive technicians require completion of a college diploma or certificate program in archive and document management technology.

Other considerations

Weekend and evening shifts may be required.

By the numbers

Quick look

350

employed in 2016

69.6%

employed full-time

0.0%

self employed

92.8%

7.2%

51.4

median age

Compared to: All Art, Culture, Recreation and Sport

11,000

employed in 2016

53.3%

employed full-time

29.3%

self employed

55.6%

44.4%

38.2

median age

Where will I likely work?

52.2%

Halifax

$36,123 median annual income

14.5%

Southern

$22,320 median annual income

14.5%

North Shore

$34,015 median annual income

11.6%

Cape Breton

$27,367 median annual income

7.2%

Annapolis Valley

N/A

Compared to: All NS Occupations

47.0%

Halifax

15.6%

North Shore

12.9%

Annapolis Valley

12.7%

Cape Breton

11.8%

Southern

Top Industries of Employment

57.6%

Educational services

39.0%

Information and cultural industries

3.4%

Health care and social assistance

What is the age of Employment?

36.0%

55-64

31.0%

45-54

14.0%

25-34

11.0%

35-44

4.0%

15-24

3.0%

65+

Compared to: All Art, Culture, Recreation and Sport

29.7%

15-24

15.9%

35-44

15.7%

45-54

15.4%

25-34

14.9%

55-64

Top levels of education

34.3%

College Diploma

$35,018 median annual income

31.4%

Bachelor

$35,537 median annual income

14.3%

Master

$36,157 median annual income

11.4%

High school

$23,853 median annual income

4.3%

Trade Certification

N/A

Compared to: All Art, Culture, Recreation and Sport

26.4%

Bachelor

$17,829 median annual income

24.9%

High school

$7,552 median annual income

19.5%

College Diploma

$22,120 median annual income

13.7%

Less than high school

$2,922 median annual income

7.9%

Master

$36,173 median annual income

Education & training

Library Assistant/Technician

College or Trades Program

These programs prepare individuals to assist professional librarians. They include courses in principles, systems, processes, and procedures of library operation, library resources and services, processes of acquisition, cataloguing, storage, and display systems, discovery and retrieval of requested materials, management of books, periodicals, and other documents.

Institutions providing this program

Nova Scotia Community College

Various, NS

Website

Library Science/Librarianship

University Program

These programs focus on the knowledge and skills required to develop, organize, store, retrieve, administer, and facilitate the use of local, remote, and networked collections of information in print, audiovisual, and electronic formats and that prepares individuals for professional service as librarians and information consultants.

Institutions providing this program

Dalhousie University

Halifax, NS

admissions@dal.ca

Website

Mount Saint Vincent University

Halifax, NS

admissions@msvu.ca

Website