After 16 years of serving Polk County as library director, Mark Pumphrey has resigned.

Polk County Manager Ryan Whitson announced Pumphreys resignation last week during a commissioners meeting and wished him well in his new venture.

Pumphrey has accepted the deputy director position at the El Paso, Texas Library. He will begin his new position on Sept. 27 and will be leaving Polk County effective Sept. 17.

It is with regret that I announce my resignation as the director of the Polk County Library, Pumphrey said in his letter of resignation. Since I joined Polk County government in 1994, I have seen much positive growth in library services for the people of Polk County and many of you have played a part in making the dream a reality. We have many points of pride to reflect back on. I wish for all of you the very best the future can bring.

In 2006, Pumphrey was named N.C. Librarian of the Year in 2006 by the N.C. Public Library Directors Association. The award recognized Pumphrey for his numerous contributions to the local community, as well as to state and national library organizations.

By the end of 2006, Pumphrey had achieved two of his primary goals as library director: a new library was built in Polk County, and the town of Saluda had a new branch library.

Pumphrey also increased the library staff, adding a reference and adult services librarian and a full-time circulation assistant.

Over the years, the library has maintained a productive relationship with the Bill and Melinda Bates Foundation, which included an invitation for Pumphrey to speak on a panel of three librarians at the American Library Association’s summer conference in Toronto about the local successes associated with the earlier receipt of Gates computer grants. The value of that collaboration became evident once again in 2006, when the foundation provided 12 new Gates computers just prior to the opening of the new main library in June of that year.

Pumphrey was elected to the Online Computer Library Center (OCLC) Global Council of the OCLC Americas Region Council in Washington, D.C. while serving as Polk County library director. The Americas Region encompasses all of North and South America. Delegates to the OCLC global council are nominated to assure equal representation on the council of libraries of all types and sizes, and from all corners of the world. Only two public library directors were added to the global council at that time from the Americas region, one representing a large, urban library in Canada; and Pumphrey, who represented the interests and concerns of small and rural libraries from throughout the Americas.

During his years in Polk County, Pumphrey also has been active in other community organizations. He has held leadership positions with the Polk County Partnership for Children, helped to form the Rutherford/Polk Smart Start Partnership and served as e-Champion for e-Polk, a nonprofit organization providing high-speed fiber optic Internet connectivity to the area.

He has been a member of the NCKnows Advisory Committee for the State Library of North Carolina and served on the archives and public library development committees of the North Carolina Public Library Directors Association.

Pumphrey also served on the American Library Association Committee on Literacy.

Commissioners did not indicate when they will advertise for a new library director during the announcement last week.