Suffolk’s library director, Elliot A. Drew, has retired from the position, according to a city spokeswoman.

Drew, who came to Suffolk in 1986 as director of the library after having served as the assistant director of the Appomattox Regional Library in Hopewell, retired effective Feb. 1, Suffolk spokeswoman Diana Klink stated in a press release.

Drew was the first library director to oversee Morgan Memorial Library after its move to its present location. In the 1990s, he oversaw the computerization of the library’s circulation system, technical services and public catalog and also began using the resources on the Internet.

“Elliot has done a tremendous job assisting generations of citizens of Suffolk in fulfilling their recreational, informational and cultural needs by promoting, encouraging and supporting a lifelong interest in reading,” City Manager Selena Cuffee-Glenn stated in the press release announcing Drew’s retirement. “We thank him for his many years of service, and wish him a happy, well-deserved retirement.”

Julie Darnell has been named interim library director. Darnell came to Suffolk as a children’s librarian in 2006 and helped open the North Suffolk Library in 2007. Since that time, she has taken on roles as the public services manager and branch manager at the North Suffolk Library.

Darnell obtained her Bachelor of Arts in history from Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, and her Master of Library Science from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.