Tina Murdock of Conway, library director for the Faulkner-Van Buren Regional Library System, resigned effective May 1, although she did not get a job she had applied for in North Little Rock.
Murdock applied to be director of the William F. Laman Public Library in North Little Rock. Betty Anderson, human-resources director for North Little Rock, said none of the applicants was chosen for the position at that city’s library, and the job is being advertised again.
The other applicant in the River Valley & Ozark Edition coverage area was Zoe Butler of Morrilton, public-library consultant and coordinator for the Arkansas Center for the Book at the Arkansas State Library in Little Rock.
Judy Lovell, assistant director of the Faulkner County Library, said Murdock sent an email with her resignation to board members. Lovell said Murdock “didn’t really” give a reason for resigning. “She doesn’t have another job,” Lovell said.
David Hogue, attorney for Faulkner County, said the bottom line is that Murdock and the library boards decided “this is not a good fit.”
Hogue said he met with the Faulkner County Library Board, the regional board and the Van Buren County Library Board, as well as Faulkner County Judge Jim Baker and Van Buren County Judge Roger Hooper.
Baker said Murdock hand-delivered her resignation letter to him, and “I asked her to reconsider,” he said. Baker said Murdock determined that her style was in conflict with the boards’ styles.
In her resignation letter, dated March 16, Murdock wrote, “I wish only the best for the future of all the libraries in the Faulkner and Van Buren counties.”
Lovell said Murdock’s last day in the library was April 2. In her letter, Murdock said she would be taking vacation until May 1.
The Faulkner County Library Board of Directors had not named an interim director as of Tuesday.
“Right now, I’m taking care of things, but they will be looking at getting someone to be interim until they can get someone else hired, but they haven’t done it yet,” Lovell said.
Murdock could not be reached for comment.
Previously manager of the Fine Arts and Humanities Division of the Dallas Public Library, she started at the Faulkner County Library on Dec. 2, 2013. She was hired to replace longtime director Ruth Voss, who retired at the end of 2012. Murdock oversaw seven library branches in addition to Conway: Greenbrier, Mayflower, Mount Vernon, Twin Groves and Vilonia, along with Van Buren County’s main library in Clinton and a branch in Damascus.
Anderson said Tuesday that the North Little Rock position is being re-advertised and that there is no deadline for applications at this point. The job is “open till filled,” Anderson said.
Longtime William F. Laman Public Library System Executive Director Jeff Baskin, 67, died in September of pancreatic cancer.
Senior writer Tammy Keith can be reached at (501) 327-0370 or tkeith@arkansasonline.com.