Shaun Briley, the San Diego Public Library employee of the year and former branch manager for the La Jolla-Riford Library, has been selected as the City’s new Library Director for the Coronado Public Library.
Briley stood out from among a strong pool of candidates, said City Manager Blair King, for his core beliefs in supporting traditional literacy and learning, and his passion for keeping libraries vibrant.
“Shaun was chosen for the strong vision he has of the role of the library in the community,” King added. “He is excited about what he can do to make the Coronado Library more modern and inviting, and to be an exceptional resource for all residents.”
Briley earned his master’s degree in library sciences and began working in the San Diego Public Library system as a librarian in 2007. He was a substitute librarian first for Chula Vista then National City. He became a manager at the Paradise Hills branch and the circulation manager at the downtown branch before heading to the La Jolla branch in 2014.
In 2016, Briley was named a Library Journal Mover & Shaker, the library world’s equivalent of “person of the year” for his innovations. Last year, he was named 2018 Employee of the Year by the City of San Diego Public Library.
While working for San Diego, Briley introduced several forward-thinking programs such as the first biotech lab inside a library, a book club for middle school kids that provided them with books to review that had not yet been published, and a media literacy program that trained library workers to help patrons become better news consumers.
Briley also created the Memory Lab in La Jolla to allow residents to digitize items such as obsolete VHS tapes and slides. He established a citizen science project that mobilized more than 1,000 people to collect insects for DNA sampling that would become part of a global database.
“I see keeping the library relevant as the best way to support its traditional literacy and learning goals,” Briley said. “The middle school book club is a great example of using new technology, iPads to control copyrighted material, to promote reading, and I made the La Jolla library the first of the small branch libraries to have 3D printing to attract middle and high school students. I completely believe in the traditional roles of the library.”
As library director, Briley will oversee a department of 11 full-time employees, as well as a team of part-time workers and volunteers who help create and manage programs, and maintain the Library’s extensive collection of books, magazines, newspapers, videos and special collections. Briley’s annual salary will be $130,000. He will start work April 8.
