Ashworth bids farewell as library director

BONNERS FERRY — The library was always a second home for Sandy Ashworth and her family after they moved to Boundary County in the late 1960s.

It made sense to volunteer at the Boundary County Library and then, when a part-time job came open in the mid-1980s, to start working there as well.

Now, after 30 years at the helm, Ashworth is bidding farewell to her job as the library’s director saying it’s time for a new person to lead the community anchor.

“I’ve stayed on longer than I anticipated but, at the same time, we’ve been looking seriously for the right person to take over,” she said.

That person is Craig Anderson, who has the teaching skills and vision to continue the library’s journey to the next level, one that combines education, economic basics, and technology as well as books and other resources, Ashworth said.

An open house is planned for the last week of the month to bid a fond farewell to Ashworth and to welcome Anderson to his new post.

The pair met seven years ago while working on a youth business project, where Anderson was helping Bonners Ferry High School seniors write business plans for a class. In the time since then, seven of the plans have turned into actual businesses in the community.

Anderson helped the library set up the design center and the “FAB Lab” and proved a key part of the puzzle.

“The more I worked with him, the more I was, ‘Oooh, this is my replacement,” she said with a small laugh.

In the years since she joined the library, Ashworth has seen many changes, from its home where the old Huckleberry Variety store once stood, to its move to its current site to its recent renovations to add the FAB Lab and design center.

“I sort of feel like I’ve been paid to live in a candy store,” Ashworth said.

Not only has she gotten to share her love of books and learning, but she’s gotten to be a part of the lives of the community’s residents, from its very young to its senior citizens.

“They’re family,” Ashworth said. “They’re my library family. The youngest who could hardly see over the counter are now bringing in their own kids.”

It is a very special thing of which to have been a part, she said.

One of her favorite memories — beyond the day-to-day visits with her library family — stems from a long-ago summer reading program where a variety of animals were visiting for a show-and-tell segment. One animal — a llama — and its young owner weren’t sure where they were supposed to go or how to get there and opted to enter through the front door.

A now-former state legislator was at the desk, as were other patrons, and here “a very large, very beautiful llama came prancing into the library,” Ashworth said. “‘I”m here, I’m here,’ it seemed to saying.”

She also fondly recalls a former page — now an English teacher at the high school — who never wanted to leave and promised that one day she would work at the library. Ashworth told her that, when she was 16, she could work at the library as a page. The day after her birthday, she came to the library to fill out an application.

Ashworth’s dedication and expertise have not gone unnoticed. In 2002, Ashworth and the library were selected for the Museum and Library Service’s National Award for Service — the highest award a library can receive, and one which was presented by former First Lady Laura Bush. The following year, she received the Idaho Brightest Star Award for her service. That same year, she was selected to serve as a commissioner on the U.S. Commission on Libraries and Information Science, which is charged with evaluating library and information services available to the American people.

Ashworth was able to share the challenges faced by rural libraries, especially one’s that are geographically isolated like those in North Idaho — especially after she explained what it took for her to get to Washington, D.C.

“I was sort of the country mouse, so to speak,” she added.

Once Ashworth has taken a few moments to rest and reflect on her years at the library, she plans to be back at it — this time as a volunteer.

“I will continue to be creating a culture of opportunity, providing local service with a global reach like we say in our mission statement,” she said. “This time as a volunteer.”