Beaman welcomes new library director

Great writing takes Sarah Dougherty’s breath away.
           
The incoming Beaman Library Director, who will take over on July 1, grew up on kids classics like “Where the Wild Things Are” and the “Nancy Drew” series before graduating to John Steinbeck, the American author most famous for Great Depression and Dust Bowl era tales like “The Grapes of Wrath,” “Of Mice and Men,” “Cannery Row” and “East of Eden.” With her lifelong love of literature, Dougherty jumped at the opportunity to take over for longtime Beaman city clerk and librarian Lavonne Sternhagen, who is retiring at the end of the fiscal year.
           
“This is a little gem of a library, and I like to be part of the cultural life of the community I’m in,” she said.
           
While she doesn’t plan to make any big changes right away, Dougherty hopes that the library will continue to be a gathering place for residents of Beaman and that younger readers will take an interest in its future. She’s currently taking a class through the State Library of Iowa on public library management and looking for ideas that she can borrow from other libraries. 
 
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