The King County Library System dropped a press release yesterday when nobody was looking. Here's the relevant passage:

Gary Wasdin, director of the King County Library System (KCLS) since January 2015, has resigned.

“KCLS is committed to providing a welcoming environment for all of its users,” said Jim Wigfall, KCLS Board President. “When it came to our attention that Mr. Wasdin violated KCLS’ code of conduct, the Board took immediate action. Mr. Wasdin has chosen to resign his position effective immediately, and the Board fully agrees with this decision.”

That is a lot to take in.

When Wasdin moved to KCLS from Omaha in early 2015, he gave an interview to Library Journal about the job. It's a pretty straightforward, gushy interview — Wasdin says taking the new job at KCLS "is like winning the professional lottery" — that doesn't shed any light on the present situation.

If you're a librarian or other KCLS staffer and you'd like to talk about the library, please get in touch with the Seattle Review of Books. I'm proud to say that we have a good record of listening to librarian issues and sharing them with the public. Send me an email: paul@seattlereviewofbooks.com.