Anchorage Public Library director to resign

Anchorage Public Library Director Virginia McClure this week announced her resignation, effective July 8.

In a statement Monday, McClure said she is leaving Alaska to help care for her mother.

“This decision was not made lightly, however for the past year my mother has been suffering from moderate to severe dementia and recently there has been an increase in related complications to her health,” McClure said.

Katie Scovic, chief of staff to Mayor-elect Suzanne LaFrance, expressed gratitude for McClure’s service and said the LaFrance administration is looking to fill the role. LaFrance may appoint an interim library director until a permanent director is selected, Scovic said.

McClure said she is “committed to ensuring a smooth transition” and is working with the LaFrance administration to “facilitate the interim department leadership.”

“While I hate to leave my position with the library, I feel like this is the right time. I am confident Anchorage Public Library will be able to attract qualified and experienced candidates for the position,” McClure said in a statement.

Mayor Dave Bronson appointed McClure in September 2022, after three other appointments to the library director position did not work out.

His first nominee, Sami Graham, was not confirmed by the Anchorage Assembly due to her lack of a master’s degree in library science, one of the job’s minimum qualifications. When the Assembly voted down the appointment, Bronson immediately named Graham his chief of staff, though she resigned from that role a few months later.

Bronson’s second pick, Judy Eledge, resigned as director when it became clear the Assembly would not confirm her, though Eledge stayed on as deputy director at the library. Her tenure at the library was controversial, and Eledge left the library last year as the city faced a legal settlement involving employee complaints against her.

In April 2022, Bronson named a third library director, Robert Hudson, but Hudson later decided not to take the job.

McClure’s nomination was received positively by the Assembly and she was confirmed in a unanimous vote. McClure had previously worked for the Anchorage Public Library as the manager of the Mountain View branch and as the assistant director for public services.

McClure is married to former Alaska Republican Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell.