The director of the New Orleans Public Library has abruptly resigned his post.
Gabriel Morley has a little more than a year on the job.
The reason for Morley’s departure, a WWL-TV report states Morley did not live in New Orleans, as required for most city employees.
Morley’s leaving could not come at a more trying time for the Library system, which is knee deep in a campaign to renew the Library Tax Millage which is on the December 11 ballot.
According to WWL-TV’s investigation Morley actually resides in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.
After the broadcaster sent an email inquiring about Morley’s residence out of New Orleans, his office responded about 3 in the afternoon with the following statement from Morley:
“Today is my last day at NOPL. I have enjoyed my time at the library and we have accomplished some major achievements like the 10-year strategic plan. We have also overcome some significant challenges like the pandemic. NOPL is positioned well for a lot of future success. Good luck to all in the future. Dr. Gabriel Morley.”
Morley, a native of Slidell, took over the job after four years of running the Fulton County Library System in Georgia. Before that he ran the Washington Parish Library.
An unidentified city spokesperson, when asked to respond to Morley’s resignation, issued their own statement:
“The Library Board of Directors thanks Dr. Gabriel Morley for his two years of service to the New Orleans Public Library. Under Dr. Morley’s leadership, we developed a strategic plan that will propel the Library forward, and we appreciate his contributions to our system and our city.”
