(a) Subject to the approval of the commission, the director and librarian shall appoint an assistant state librarian, a state archivist, a state records administrator, and other assistants and employees necessary to fulfill the duties of the commission and the director and librarian as prescribed by law.
(b) The assistant state librarian has the rank of a department head. In the absence of the director and librarian, the assistant may sign and certify accounts and documents in the same manner and with the same legal authority as the director and librarian. The assistant shall take the official oath.

(c) To be eligible for appointment as state archivist, a person must have appropriate training and experience in the administration of a government archive, but is not required to have technical library school training or library experience to be appointed state archivist.
(d) To be eligible for appointment as state records administrator, a person must have appropriate training and experience in the administration of a government records management program, but is not required to have technical library training or library experience to be appointed state records administrator.
(e) The director and librarian may designate a staff member to serve as both state archivist and state records administrator. In that event, any provision of Subchapter L requiring joint action by the state archivist and the state records administrator requires only the action of the person designated.