ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, February 8, 1997 TAG: 9702100036
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG
SOURCE: KATHY LOAN STAFF WRITER
A search for a new director of the Montgomery-Floyd Regional Library likely will not get under way until late next month.
Meanwhile, ex-director Karen Dillon and the Library Board remain tight-lipped about the reasons for her Jan. 17 resignation, which only came to light this week. Dillon had headed the library system since May 1994.
Jim Johnson, chairman of the Library Board of Trustees, has said Dillon resigned for personal reasons. He declined to elaborate on that Friday.
"This would probably be in her best interest and the library's best interest. She did a lot of good things for the library," Johnson said.
Reached by phone Wednesday, Dillon declined to comment. "One of the conditions of my resignation with the Library Board was that I make no comment," Dillon said, referring inquiries to Johnson. When asked if her resignation was voluntary or forced, Dillon said, "I really can't go into the details.
"I simply must put that job behind me. And I'm not obligated to say anything further," Dillon said.
Most of the eight other Library Board members either could not be reached or declined to comment.
"She did offer her resignation and it was accepted. I don't know what else to say," said Sally Mackie, a board member from Blacksburg.
"I really can't comment and I'm sure the other board members would say the same," said Deborah Quick-Conner, a Floyd County representative to the board.
Jo Brown, the library system's associate director, has been appointed acting director. The Library Board's personnel committee met Thursday night after being asked by the full board to recommend how a search for Dillon's replacement should proceed.
Johnson said he has sent notes to senior staff members asking for suggestions on how the search should proceed. Their responses are due by March 1.
The full board meets at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 19 at the Christiansburg library headquarters, at 125 Sheltman St.
"It will not be talked about much this time because the board asked the personnel committee to come back" with recommendations on how to proceed, Johnson said. "Most likely, we will appoint a search committee at our March meeting. We didn't want to jump into it and be sorry for which way we went - to do a little thinking."
Dillon's resignation means the regional Library Board will be searching for a new director for the third time in six years. Dillon replaced Carol Veitch, who had been hired in 1991 after Kathryn I. Martens resigned to move to another city after a decade in Montgomery.
The Library Board fired Veitch in 1993. Veitch filed suit, contending she had been placed on probation and not allowed to file a grievance. She dropped the lawsuit six months later.
Dillon led the three-library system through the recently completed expansion and renovation of the Blacksburg-area branch. She also oversaw the automation of the library's card catalog and checkout systems. Both initiatives were paid for in part by a November 1994 bond issue that county voters approved in 1993. Before coming to Montgomery County, Dillon had been an official with the state library in Richmond.
"I'm very proud of some of the accomplishments we were able to make during the last three years," Dillon said.
Dillon said she has already had one job interview, is pursuing other leads and is still involved with volunteer projects, such as her work with the New Century Council.
"I'm very interested in working closer to home," said Dillon, who commuted daily from Franklin County to Christiansburg.
Staff writer Brian Kelley contributed to this story.
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