Connect
To Top

Meet Oliver Sanidas of Arapahoe Libraries

Avatar photo

Today we’d like to introduce you to Oliver Sanidas.

Oliver, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
My professional roots start in Hollywood, where I worked for several years in the entertainment industry as an actor/filmmaker/coffee-fetcher/copy maker. Always wanting to work in a creative field, I became drawn to the possibilities that a career in technology would offer. I obtained a Masters Degree in Technology Management from the University of Denver in 2003. I spent many years working in technology leadership. I started working with Arapahoe Libraries in 2003 starting as a computer technician. I was promoted to manager of the technology department after about a year. I was promoted to the senior leadership team in 2012, where I lead the technology and materials department.

In 2017, I was fortunate to be named executive director at Arapahoe Libraries. As executive director, I get to lead an organization that strives to empower its patrons. With that worthy mission, I am working to create an innovative, empowering culture for the 300 plus talented staff that I oversee. In addition, for nearly eight years, I have served on the board of directors at Early Excellence of Denver located near downtown Denver where I get to support the mission of early childhood education by bringing innovative ideas and experience to their team.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
The jump from being a senior-level leader to the executive has been the most significant adjustment for me. Every other move that I made within my organization felt safe and manageable. I was always fortunate to have a strong internal mentor. Any of the struggles that I had were born out of frustrations of missed opportunities or moving in a direction that may have conflicted with my vision. However, none of those issues kept me up at night. When I became the Executive Leader of the entire organization, I immediately felt very alone. All of my internal mentors were gone and it was just me, at least that is how it felt. I also felt a need to know everything about the organization that I was now the leading. It may sound silly, but suddenly, it felt that my staff cared about what I had to say. In the past, I was the technology person, and the staff at the library cared what I said, but they could contextualize it around my area of influence.

As the executive that was no longer the case, Everything that I said mattered. I am a verbal processor, so often, when I am speaking, I am not expecting immediate action. Sometimes what I am talking about is a work in progress, or it is a passing thought. I like to ideate and brainstorm a lot, but that does not mean that my ideas are always good. In fact, many of them are not that great. I think that because what I would say mattered so much that I became less vocal for a period of time. I started to be more careful and guarded and alone. Another challenge for me was around staying in touch with what goes on in the organization. I try to be approachable, and my ambition is to be a good listener. The problem is that the title gets in the way of that. In my head, I still feel like I am the same person that I was before I got the job. I am goofy, shy, and very human. I remember in all of my years serving at all levels of an organization that I promised myself that I would never be out of touch with the front lines of the organization. I now realize that this is a bit of a naive statement because the assumption made was that it would be my choice. It turns out that it was not my choice. As the leader, I am often told things that I want to hear and not what I need to hear. It’s tough to expect candor, and not everyone is comfortable offering it when you have a fancy title.

We’d love to hear more about your work.
I work for Arapahoe Libraries, which is a library system south of Denver, Colorado. We have eight library branches, and a library on wheels as well as a library service in the Arapahoe County Jail. It is hard to answer what we specialize in these days because we do so much. Ultimately we are in the information business in that we provide information to our communities. When people think of libraries, they tend to think of us as a place to check out books and movies, and a place that offers public computers and free wifi. All of that is true, but it is not the whole picture. We also offer community space; we host events, we teach classes, we provide a venue for people to create, and we even have coffee shops in two of our branches. We are a place for the community to gather and connect to information, but that information is not limited to something that is consumed in a book. We offer experiences, and we support patrons to explore. What separates us apart from others is that we are an institution that seeks to empower our patrons in their lives. We aren’t selling anything, and we do our best to be objective. We simply want to help our patrons find the knowledge that they seek. What makes me most proud is that we are an institution that exists to empower its community, and the mission is pure. There is no other agenda.

Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
Luck has played a tremendous role in my life. Personally, I am lucky to have found an amazing wife who loves me, and that for some reason a shy guy like me was able to muster up the courage to ask her out twenty-two years ago, and she said yes. Professionally, I feel fortunate to have been given this opportunity. I am not a career librarian and never dreamed of leading a library. My background and education are eclectic. I have two Bachelor’s Degrees. One is a BS in Advertising, and the other is a BA in Sociology. Then I have a Masters Degree in Technology Management. None of that has anything to do with library science. I never worked in a library until I found Arapahoe Libraries. When I came to the library, I expected to only work there for a year or so. I was hired on a contract basis, and when it expired, I expected to move on to another organization. There is a funny story there.

My contract did, in fact, expire after my first year at the library, and I was let go because the management of the library at the time did not want to pay the contracting company fees to make me a permanent hire. I was called on a Saturday where they informed me that the next week was going to be my last week. I remember telling my wife, “oh well, that job was fun, but it is time to find something else.” Luckily for me, the department head in the technology department did some advocating on my behalf, and she was able to convince management that I was worth the investment. I have been with the library ever since.

Contact Info:

Suggest a story: VoyageDenver is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.

Related Items

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

More in