Library Board Chooses New Director

Richard Sandstrom was recently selected as the new director of the Sidney Public Library.

Sandstrom comes to Sidney from Emporia, Kan., where he worked at the college library and then at the public library.

"We went there (Emporia) because my wife was a pastor there," he said recently.

He said after spending some time at home as a stay-at-home dad, he earned his Master of Library Science degree from Emporia State College. He earned his MLS degree in 2015. He earned his undergraduate degree from Berkley College in Harland, Kan.

Coming to Sidney, he was impressed with the library and its assets.

"I think the most valuable asset of any library is the personnel," he said.

He said he thinks Sidney Public Library has some great people on staff.

"I've been very impressed with them," he said.

He and his wife have three

teenage children: two girls, one 16 and one 13, and a 17-year-old boy.

He says he was drawn to Sidney because he enjoys small towns.

"I like the smaller communities where people are just real," he says.

As for Sidney, he was attracted to the family values of the area.

"It's a good place to raise a family," he said.

His wife is working on her master's thesis in theology, and will be teaching classes online. Additionally, she is a doula. A doula is a person who provides emotional and physical support to you during your pregnancy and childbirth. Doulas are not medical professionals. They don't deliver babies or provide medical care, according to webmd.com.

His family is still in Emporia. The school system is divided into trimesters in Emporia. In his off-time, Sandstrom likes cycling and is already looking forward to exploring Cheyenne County's dirt roads.