Library and public archive technicians – NOC : 5211

Unit Group

5211 Library and public archive technicians

Library and public archive technicians assist users in accessing library or archive resources, assist in describing new acquisitions, participate in archive processing and storage, and conduct reference searches. They are employed by libraries and public archives.

Example Titles

archive technician

elementary school librarian

high school librarian

library technician

secondary school librarian

technical indexer – library

View all titles

Main duties

Library technicians perform some or all of the following duties:

Assist library users in accessing 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
Assist librarians in giving tours and providing children’s and other specialized library programs.

Public archive technicians perform some or all of the following duties:

Assist in developing 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 assisting users
Ensure that proper procedures are followed in the use of computerized document management systems.

Employment 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.

Classified elsewhere

Archivists (5113)
Librarians (5111)
Library assistants and clerks (1451)
Records management technicians (1253)