Library head says he

was forced to resign

By Scott Nicholson

Watauga County librarian John Blake says he has been forced to resign this week.

Blake has been the county’s head librarian for nearly five years and was surprised by the request that he resign.

“I’ve been a really good boss and caretaker of the public trust,” Blake said. “I just don’t get it.”

Louise Humphrey, Director of Libraries for the three-county Appalachian Regional Library, said she was responsible for all personnel decisions and refused to comment on the action.

“I would just like to know what I did,” Blake said. “I’ve got nothing to hide. I’ve got a good track record. Someone owes me an apology. I want the people of Watauga County to know what’s going on.”

In an e-mail interview, Blake said Humphrey gave him a letter that stated “something to do with ‘insubordination,’ but I never got halfway through it after hearing her say ‘I want your resignation on my desk by 4 p.m. or you are ‘fired.’”

“As for my being insubordinate, I have not been insubordinate. She is the boss and I have always given her that. Have I questioned things? Have I said why not? Of course I have and her mode is to treat that as insubordination,” he said, characterizing Humphrey as a “micro-manager.”

Claire Olander, president of the Friends of the Library, said she learned of the resignation on Monday.

“To a member, we are all very disappointed and shocked,” Olander said.

“John has always been more than cooperative with Friends and helping us out. John was so generous and so easy to work with.”

The regional library system is funded through a combination of state and local government funding, with support from local library associations. Watauga County has no authority over the library’s personnel decisions.

Blake was born in Angola and spent his first eight years there. His parents were missionaries with the Methodist Church.

Blake and his family returned to the United States when he was eight, living in New York and then New Jersey. He graduated from high school and went on to attend Earlham College, a Quaker school in Richmond, Indiana.

Blake, who became Watauga County librarian in November 2005, arrived in the High Country with decades of experience in the profession. He came to Boone from Durham, where he served as a branch manager for the Durham Public Library for about 27 years.

Attempts to reach Watauga County representatives on the regional library board were unsuccessful as of press time Thursday morning.