2009 Eureka! Leadership Institute: Derek Wolfgram

In 2001, I had the honor of attending the Stanford-California State Library Institute on 21st Century Librarianship, a weeklong leadership immersion experience for librarians (sound familiar?) All of the participants introduced ourselves through a listserv in advance of the institute. You can see how I introduced myself then at http://tinyurl.com/derek21. You can also read what I wrote after the institute at http://tinyurl.com/21report.

Fast forward: I spent five more years as a manager at Denver Public Library, including multiple branches, returning to Reference, managing Circulation and the Bookmobile, and leading a redesign of the Central Library. In December 2006, I moved to California to become director of the Butte County Library. After two and a half challenging and fun-filled years, I moved to Los Gatos to be Deputy County Librarian for Community Libraries and Human Resources at the Santa Clara County Library beginning June 1 of this year.

In my current role, I oversee the staff and operations of seven community libraries and one small branch, as well as the LibraryÕs human resources department. I am responsible for integrating the LibraryÕs new strategic plan into daily operations, and helping everyone to understand the roles they play in the context of the larger organization.

I still really like books, although I donÕt spend nearly enough time with them these days. I also still really like learning, and I still feel that I can learn something from everyone I interact with. When IÕm not at work, I love traveling with my wife Robin (mostly to eat great food in new and different places), my dogs Spike and Aggie, punk rock and jazz music, Chicago Cubs baseball, and homebrewing my own beer.

Things that have served me well in my career (and life): listening, encouraging others to do what they do well, seeking to find the right balance to integrate traditional services with innovation, and volunteering for things I donÕt think I can handle.

Things I still need to work on: remembering peopleÕs names, speaking up when I think I know better than everyone else, believing I actually know what IÕm doing, and following through on everything I get started (see ÒEnneagram Type 7, weaknesses ofÓ for more on this one).

I look forward to building relationships with the outstanding library leaders selected to participate in this yearÕs Eureka Leadership Institute! To reach me after the institute:

408-293-2326 x3002
derek.wolfgram@library.sccgov.org
www.facebook.com/derekwolfgram