Douglas Crane To Lead Palm Beach County Library System

Doug Crane was recently named director of the Palm Beach County Library System.

Crane is the fourth person to serve as the director. He came to the Palm Beach County Library System in 1998 as a youth services librarian, in part to see what winters were like without snow. In 2000, he was promoted to be the electronic resources coordinator overseeing the library’s web site and Internet training classes.

In 2007, Crane became manager of the Wellington branch library, where he reopened the building following a major expansion. In 2013, he was selected director of the Branch Public Service Division, overseeing 16 branch locations and 370 staff members.

In 2012, Crane earned a Golden Palm Award for his work on the Sorter Installation Project and has received numerous library employee recognition awards. He presented a workshop called “Getting Things Done,” based on the book of the same name for county employees and Southeast Florida Library Information Network (SEFLIN) members.

A graduate of the SEFLIN Sun Seekers Leadership and the Palm Beach County Leadership Level I programs, he has also served as a mentor in the Sunshine State Library Leadership Program. Crane is a member of the Florida Library Association’s Leadership Development Committee and vice president of education for the newly formed Palm Beach County government Toastmasters Club.

Crane is originally from Toronto, where he earned undergraduate degrees in history and geography, and his master’s degree from the University of Toronto. Having worked in the Toronto Public Library while he went to high school and college, he is one of the few librarians who began working on his library science graduate degree right after graduation.

Crane, his wife, Janet, and their daughter, Sierra, live in Jupiter. His parents, brother and sister still reside in Canada. He became a naturalized American citizen in 2009.

ABOVE: Douglas Crane