Hello and welcome to our new blog! We’re not quite ready to open our doors just yet, but I promise it won’t be too long. While you’re waiting for us to get some books on the shelves and open the doors, I thought I’d write a quick post to tell you a little about myself.

My name is Sandy Clark. I live here in Tioga with my husband, Adam, my son Eli (12) and my daughter Teagan (almost 6!)…oh, and we have two really large calico cats who are sisters named Herb and Muppet. Our entire family has lived in Tioga since 2015. We moved here from central Iowa, from the small town of Roland. Even though Roland was small enough to not need a traffic light anywhere in town, we did have a library and it was a very popular place for the roughly 1300 people who live there.

I grew up in southeastern Wisconsin and lived there off and on throughout my college and early adult years. Having grown up with Milwaukee only about 15 minutes from my home, adjusting to small town living was a challenge for me, but a challenge that proved favorable. Both Roland, IA and Tioga, ND have such friendly people that I found I actually didn’t mind the size, and I came to realize many of the benefits that come with living in a smaller community. However, those benefits definitely do NOT include either the length of winter or the REALLY cold temperatures we have in North Dakota! Seriously…winter has just seemed eternal this year!

In my free time, I enjoy hanging out with my really cool kids, running, lifting weights, being outside, reading and playing the piano. I have my bachelor’s degree in psychology, and I’m currently taking online college classes. I’ve always enjoyed being in school – in fact, I’ve often told people that if I could have a career as a college student, I would totally do it! Library director isn’t EXACTLY the same, but I think it definitely is a position that will give me the ability to learn many things!

Although I don’t have any formal education in library science, I am eager to learn everything I can to provide our community with a place to “read, learn and connect“, which is the phrase I have chosen to focus on while I start planning for our library. Of course I hope everyone who comes to library will read, but more importantly, I want everyone to feel like they leave with just a little more knowledge, inspiration and a little more excitement about the worlds that open up when you immerse yourself into the never-ending world of books!

I hope you’re as excited as I am for this adventure that is about to begin here in Tioga. I’m looking forward to meeting all of you very soon!