Jeff Davis Parish Library Director Clare Coleman is resigning in early 2023.

Coleman, who has been director for four years, informed the Library Board of Control of her plans last week.

“It is with a heavy heart but firm purpose that I write to inform you that I will be resigning from my position with Jeff Davis Parish Library,” Coleman wrote to the board.

Coleman said she is resigning for health and personal reasons.

Coleman said she would like to leave sometime in late February, depending on start days for her replacement.

Coleman said she is leaving library work and does not anticipate going back to work for any library.

“I have been in a library for 19 years,” Coleman told the American Press on Tuesday. “It’s been my career and all I have ever known.”

Coleman said serving as director for the Jeff Davis Parish Library has been incredibly rewarding and she is grateful for the opportunity the board has given her and the trust and support of staff.

During an interview with the American Press on Tuesday, Coleman said she will miss the people the most.

“The generosity and spirit of the people in this parish is what I will miss the most,” she said.

Coleman said she plans to do something entirely different, including traveling.

“There are some things I have not been able to do as a librarian working 9 to 5,” she said.

Coleman, who has two travel blogs, said traveling is a passion she has not been able to fully tap into.

Among her accomplishments as a library director, Coleman said she is proud of how the local libraries were able to overcome the challenges of the pandemic and back-to-back hurricanes.

“I am extremely proud that we were proactive with our technology updates and were able to work remotely and help library patrons when there was a need,” she said.

“I am also proud that we did a five-year strategic plan and in four years we have accomplished everything,” she said. “The only thing left is planning for the new Welsh Library, but the process has begun and that will continue.”

Coleman said her goal is to have an architectural drawing of plans for the Welsh Library before she leaves. It will be up to the next director to see those plans become a reality and in finding funding if additional funding is needed for the project, she said.