51102 Archivists

What this occupation covers

Archivists manage, process, store and disseminate information contained in an organization's archives. They acquire, store and research textual material, pictures, maps, architectural documents, electronic materials, films and videos, and sound recordings and multimedia materials. They are employed in archives, in the public and para-public sectors and in private sector organizations.

Official main duties

The NOC profile lists 7 main duties for this code.

• Develop policies and procedures for managing current and semicurrent archives, in particular corporate cataloguing systems, records scheduling and disposal, and finding aids
• Design programs for managing, disseminating and storing archives of all types (documents, photographs, maps, audio-visual materials, manuscripts, etc.)
• Plan the computerized management of archives and the management of electronic archives
• Appraise and acquire archival materials to build and develop an archival collection for research purposes
• Authenticate documents and records, and research the origins and significance of archival materials
• Organize noncurrent archives and develop cataloguing and retrieval systems to allow access to archival materials
• Assist people with their searches.

Do not copy these lines into your reference letter. The letter has to describe what you actually did, in your employer’s words. DUTYPROOF flags wording lifted from the NOC as something to review, and an officer reading a letter that mirrors the NOC reads it the same way.

What DUTYPROOF screens for

This is DUTYPROOF’s screening threshold, not IRCC’s decision. For this NOC, screening requires at least 2 of its 7 official duties to be evidenced in your own words, plus the required letter elements. IRCC asks that you performed the actions in the occupation’s lead statement and a substantial number of its main duties — so treat the duty coverage as the number that matters, not the badge.

Codes this one is confused with

The NOC profile names these itself. Choosing the wrong code of a look-alike pair is the most common way genuine work experience fails to establish eligibility.

• 52100 Library and public archive technicians
• 51100 Librarians
• 50010 Library, archive, museum and art gallery managers
• 12111 Health information management occupations

Excluded from this code

• Archive assistant (See 52100 Library and public archive technicians)
• Librarians (See 51100 Librarians)
• Library, archive, museum and art gallery managers (See 50010 Library, archive, museum and art gallery managers)
• Medical archivist (See 12111 Health information management occupations)

Job titles filed under this code

A title on this list does not by itself put your experience in this code — the duties in your letter decide that.

archivist · assistant archivist · collections archivist · corporate archivist · fine arts archivist · historical archivist · multimedia archivist · photo archivist · research archivist · video archivist

Employment requirements

• A bachelor's degree with a minor in archival studies or A university degree with a certificate in archival studies is required.
• A master's degree in archival studies, archival studies and information science, library science or history may be required.