Interviews to begin for library director’s job

CONWAY — Interviews will start next week for candidates for director of the Faulkner County Library, although applications are still being accepted, said Judy Lovell, assistant director.

Three people to date have applied to fill part of the position left by Tina Murdock, who was the Faulkner-Van Buren County Regional Library System director. She resigned effective May 1.

Faulkner County attorney David Hogue said this position is only for the Faulkner County director. Lovell said she is handling the day-to-day duties of the director’s position.

Karla Fultz is administrator of the Van Buren County Library in Clinton, which has a branch in Damascus.

All three applicants are current employees of the Faulkner County Library:

Virginia “Ginny” Kopper of Conway is technical-services manager for the library, where she has worked from 1995 to the present. She has a master’s degree in library science from Texas Woman’s University in Denton.

John A. McGraw of Conway has been a library assistant at the Faulkner County Library since November. He has a master’s degree in library and information studies from the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa.

Katherine Suzanne Blacksmith of Mount Vernon has been a reference librarian since June 2011. She is pursuing a master’s degree in library and information science at the University of North Texas in Denton with an expected graduation date of May 2016, according to her application.

Lovell said she wasn’t sure how long applications would be accepted. Faulkner County Library Board chairman Bob Schuck was out of town, Lovell said, and he could not be reached for comment.

Murdock started at the library on Dec. 2, 2013. She was hired to replace longtime director Ruth Voss, who retired at the end of 2012. The Faulkner County libraries include Conway and its branches: Greenbrier, Mayflower, Mount Vernon, Twin Groves and Vilonia.

Senior writer Tammy Keith contributed to this story. She can be reached at (501) 327-0370 or tkeith@arkansasonline.com.

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