How To Become An Archives Assistant: What It Is and Career Path

What is an archives assistant and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Archives assistants work in libraries to support archivists. Their key duties include organizing archival and manuscript material in alphabetical and chronological order. They also label manuscript folders and containers. Archives assistants compile statistics and arrange, sort, file, and stamp catalog cards. They are also responsible for converting historical data to electronic data and ensuring the safety and preservation of materials. You will also be required to compile statistics. The assistant's duty is to increase the availability of research materials and preserve works. It also includes processing, preservation, and reference of files.

You must know how to use library catalogs or reference databases to work as an archives assistant. You must also be able to write simple internal memoranda and occasionally use computers. Along with all this, you must possess a high school diploma at least. The average salary is $23.05 an hour and $47950 annually.

ScoreArchives AssistantUS Average

Salary

2.8

Avg. Salary $36,042

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

4.2

Growth rate 12%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.1

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.21%

Asian 5.09%

Black or African American 5.25%

Hispanic or Latino 7.29%

Unknown 4.17%

White 77.00%

Gender

female 62.12%

male 37.88%

Age - 43

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 43

Stress level

4.2

Stress level is moderate

7.1 - high

Complexity level

9.2

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

10.0

Work life balance is excellent

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become an archives assistant

Explore archives assistant education requirements

Most common archives assistant degrees

Bachelor's

70.6 %

Master's

13.3 %

Associate

7.8 %

Start to develop specific archives assistant skills

Skills	Percentages
Online Database	21.80%
Archival Materials	13.30%
Archival Collections	8.79%
Adobe Photoshop	6.13%
Oral Histories	5.03%

Complete relevant archives assistant training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New archives assistants learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as an archives assistant based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real archives assistant resumes.

Research archives assistant duties and responsibilities

Manage, evaluate documents as needed, digitizing paper documents for archiving
Manage receipt of monographs and serials from cataloging and perform post-cataloging processing.
Assist archivists in preserving historical materials, digitizing collections, and data management.
Create html playlists of digital media for online access, using Dreamweaver software.

Prepare your archives assistant resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your archives assistant resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on an archives assistant resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable archives assistant resume templates

Build a professional archives assistant resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your archives assistant resume.