Susan Harper to retire from library in February

“This was a hard decision to make,” she says. “I love my job, I’ve had a wonderful time, and I’ve been upheld every step of the way by this supportive community. But I’d like to be free to spend more time with my family now, and I’d enjoy seeing some new energy and new ideas come into the library with a new director.”

The Library Board and the city will work together, Harper says, to identify a replacement for her.

“I’m not leaving town,” she adds. “I’ll be a member of the Friends of the Library, and I expect to have more time to devote to the Building Fund, working as a volunteer. I’ll probably even make it to more Book Vine meetings and write more pieces for the Writers Group. And of course I’ll help the new director in any way I can.”

Harper is also a columnist for The Commerce News — from which she is not retiring.