2009 Eureka! Leadership Institute: Thomas Vose

I am the Branch Manager of the Lake Elsinore Library, located at 600 W Graham Ave., Lake Elsinore, CA 92530. This library is part of the Riverside County Library System.

I started out professionally as a Reference Librarian at the Temecula library, where I oversaw Reference, adult programming, and the adult collection. I enjoyed this job immensely, and as second-in-command, I feel that it gave me a great introduction to the duties of management.

Before that, I was in library school at UCLA, where I worked a student job in the Young Research Library. I started out as a page, and ended as a stack supervisor. I also interned at Cal State Northridge, where I worked on a project involving several databases.

Previous to that, I was a research assistant and TA while attending the graduate school of history at UC Riverside. Upon graduation from there, I briefly worked as a receptionist and as a Latin tutor.

I am currently a member of ALA, and am somewhat active in its gaming community, posting on their wiki. In my community, I am also a member of the Lake Elsinore Historical Society, which has helped greatly in my work. I also attend meetings of the City Council, and try to represent the Library at important city functions.

I applied to the Institute because I hoped it would give me tips for dealing with people and diplomatic methods of handling confrontations. I also hope to meet people and make new contacts.

As for my personal information: I enjoy reading nonfiction (particularly history and reference works), skiing, gaming, genealogy, and the music of Jonathan Coulton.