LA PLATA — Lloyd Jansen, who retired from the Charles County Public Library after 14 years that included a long run as deputy director, is returning to run the system on an interim basis while trustees search for a permanent executive director.
The library’s Board of Trustees announced the appointment Nov. 6, nine days after Executive Director KennethWayne Thompson resigned on Oct. 28. The board said recruitment for Thompson’s permanent successor “will begin immediately” and promised updates as the search progresses.
“We are extremely fortunate to welcome Lloyd Jansen back to the library in this interim role,” the trustees said in a statement released through Erin Del Signore, the library’s associate director for community engagement. “His comprehensive knowledge of library operations and deep commitment to our staff and community make him the ideal leader to guide CCPL forward throughout this leadership transition.”
The release did not give Jansen’s start date or say whether the board voted in a public meeting. It also did not say how long the interim arrangement is expected to last or whether Jansen is a candidate for the permanent job.
A familiar hand at a tense moment
Jansen takes over a system of about 80 full- and part-time employees that has been in a protracted labor dispute. Library workers and management declared an impasse in August after 14 months of contract talks, and union supporters had publicly pressed trustees over the negotiations. The board’s Nov. 6 announcement did not mention the contract or say how the leadership change affects it.
The deputy director’s chair Jansen once held was itself vacant this summer. The library advertised the post in July through an executive search firm at a salary of $113,400 to $148,400, with applications closing Aug. 23. The posting described the deputy as providing “systemwide leadership for library operations and public services” and reporting to the executive director. The release did not say whether that position has been filled.
Thompson had led the library since early 2020, appointed days before the COVID-19 lockdown, according to the library’s FY2020 annual report. He had served as interim executive director before that and was a regular voice in Annapolis, testifying this year for state library funding bills. The library has not publicly stated a reason for his departure.
What the next director inherits
Charles County Public Library runs four branches in La Plata, Waldorf and Indian Head, a mobile library, the Discovery Lab, a 24-hour kiosk at the Nanjemoy Community Center and a branch inside the Charles County Detention Center. Its branches hold more than 200,000 volumes, and more than 75,000 county residents hold library cards, according to the system.
The system traces its roots to 1922, when the county’s Homemaker’s Clubs began lending books with the help of extension agent Paul Dennis “P.D.” Brown, for whom the Waldorf branch is named. Its operating budget is funded mainly by Charles County government with a state per-capita share, which is why Thompson and other county library directors lobbied the General Assembly this year to extend scheduled funding increases.
For patrons, the board’s message is continuity: no service changes were announced, and branch hours are unaffected. The open questions are the ones the release left out — when Jansen started, how the executive search will be run and who will sit across the table from the employees’ union in the meantime. The Board of Trustees meets monthly; its schedule and agendas are posted at ccplonline.org.
