My real point wasn't necessarily that he'll have job security at the library, which of course he will, but that this type of self motivated, driven, and creative person should have little trouble finding work with any company that is able to recognize the worth of those traits.

People generally have little trouble finding a job at any company that values traits that they possess.

While I understand your point there are plenty of places that have more of a "don't rock the boat" mentality. Some of that is dependent on how close or visible your position is to people invested in the company (monetarily or otherwise) vs those who are just trying to make it to the weekend.

If only the average administrator were so forward thinking. Too often they can think no further than the next quarter. Still, there are always consulting fees for him to look forward to.

You said it. I've found it to actually be worse than this. At bigco, his review for that quarter would have read, "trouble with authority, lacks patience, should learn to follow proper channels." That is, of course, if building the thing didn't get him outright fired.