A month after thwarting the attempt by Gov. Gary Locke to shut down her library to help offset a $1.2-billion budget shortfall, Nancy Zussy gave official notice April 22 that she will step down after 16 years as Washington state librarian. She had considered a career move several years earlier, the Associated Press reported April 24, but postponed it when her agency came under assault.
“Now that the state library . . . has arrived in the safe harbor of the Office of the Secretary of State,” Zussy wrote in a letter of resignation, “I feel I can embark on my previously made plans, confident and content that the library I have loved so much and for so long is in good hands.” Her last day at work will be May 17.
The Washington Library Commission, which will go out of business July 1 when the secretary of state’s office takes over responsibility for the library, designated Assistant Director for Customer Services Jan Walsh as temporary director after Zussy’s departure, according to the April 23 Olympia Olympian.
Zussy’s immediate plans are to assist her husband, Mark Allen, who is a play-by-play announcer for hydroplane boat races throughout the country.
Posted April 29, 2002.