WASHINGTON — The job posting indicates that Fairfax County would pay up to $183,665 to replace Samuel Clay, who is set to retire in March as library director, but the county is apparently is struggling to find his successor.

The Washington Post reports that several qualified people have turned down job offers, and the search for a replacement has been put off till the new year.

“I’d like them to get busy and start filling the job … they’ve known this vacancy was going to be there for years,” says Dennis Hays, who heads a citizens’ group called Fairfax Library Advocates.

In the face of a budget shortfall, Fairfax County has sharply cut the library budget in recent years, including staff reductions.  It’s also reduced its collection of printed books in favor of electronic books.

Hays thinks that some qualified candidates have turned down the job, unsure of the county’s support for the library system.

“It comes up to where there’s an actual offer made to an individual, but they look around and they see that they don’t have the level of support and commitment that they think is necessary for them to do their job,” Hays says.

The county says because of changes in technology, libraries in general are at a crossroads in trying to meet changing customer needs.