Thirty years of service at Sisters Library

Sandy McDonald has been in the thick of the action as Sisters Library moved from a tiny little cubbyhole to nice, if quaint, facility to a large, modern facility. She's seen technology change the very function of a library. And she's enjoyed it all.

McDonald marked 30 years working at Sisters Library this month.

She started in the "little brown building" now behind the Sisters Area Chamber of Commerce Visitors Center, providing relief for librarian Peg Bermel. That transitioned into a part-time job that she's held with only one interruption for three decades.

Librarians "did it all" in those days. They created card catalogues, checked books in and out, read for storytimes, conducted fundraisers and drove to Bend once a week to retrieve books for patrons.

"Everything is so digital now," McDonald said.

Catalogues are on computers and patrons order and check out their books on computers. The materials offered at the library have changed, too. Computer access is one of the library's major services, and media on offer has expanded well beyond books.

"I was told at one time that we'd never have DVDs," McDonald said. "And now we have DVDs."

McDonald cites working with Bermel and with Sisters Country pioneer, the late Nellie Zook, as highlights of her career. But perhaps her strongest impression is of a community that was willing to rally its resources to support its library.

The community raised funds to build the then-new library (now the Chamber facility). The community also supported the library when it was a county department and subject to funding cuts.

A cut in county funds caused the only significant interruption in McDonald's tenure, forcing the library to shut down for a month.

Now, the library is its own taxing district and while it has felt the pinch of hard times, its funding is relatively stable.

"We had such a good community helping us to do what we did," McDonald reflected. "We still do, but it was more then because we have more now than we did then. Our financing is so much better now."

A steady, stable job in Central Oregon is something to be treasured, and it helped McDonald raise two boys and build a house here with her husband.

She's strong in the arts - which is reflected in her responsibility for staging the displays at the library. Her hobbies turn around the arts, too.

"Quilting's my biggest thing," she said. "Quilting and gardening, I think."

While she's reached a milestone in her career, there's no end in sight.

"I haven't chosen a day to retire yet," she said.

Author Bio

Jim Cornelius, Editor in Chief

Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.

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