Mathews Memorial Library Director Bette Dillehay reluctantly submitted a letter of resignation to the library’s board of trustees during a meeting last Wednesday.
“It’s very painful for me,” said Dillehay. “My heart is breaking because I’m leaving. There are things unfinished.”
In response, trustees chair Mary Ann Carr said she had read the letter with sadness, and she praised Dillehay’s accomplishments, mentioning the library’s selection in 2005 as the “Best Rural Library in the United States” by the Institute of Museum and Library Services. Carr also recounted a visit to the library with a friend who taught library science and who commented that, “I have never been in a library in a small community that is as impressive as this.”
“You have done an incredible job with this library,” Carr told Dillehay. “It is an honor to serve on this board and to serve under you. This board respects you and all you have accomplished.”
Other board members echoed the sentiment, adding their own words o...