At the Library, Sandy Nork Feels Free

Sandy Nork, author of the books Special Risk and Flood Risk, served as a public librarian for over twenty years at both local and state levels in Pennsylvania. Before that, she was a fabric inspector, an envelope stuffer, an inventory control clerk, and a customer service rep for welding wire. But she says that once you’re a librarian, you’re pretty much always a librarian. And she has always been a writer.

“I’ve always believed that libraries are one of the few places that anyone can be free to read whatever they want and to develop ideas free from pressure,” Nork says. In her opinion, libraries play a huge role in nurturing new writers, especially those from underserved or underrepresented backgrounds.

Libraries have also inspired her own writing process. “I don’t often use a library setting [in my books], but the people I’ve met there often show up in the quirks of my fictional characters,” says Nork. Her work in libraries and her experiences as a lifelong library patron have also influenced the way she tells stories. “I’m very aware that I’m not just writing for myself but for other readers who are coming from a very different background or culture than mine,” she says. “I take the time to explain things that I wouldn’t if I was simply writing, say, a diary entry.”

Her time as a public librarian showed her how important libraries are to so many people. “I had daily contact with the people who needed and used our library,” she says. “I worked for a center-city library, so our users were culturally diverse. I came from a small town and worked in other careers in private industry, where I wasn’t exposed to the different types of people I encountered in the public library. I’d like to think that this broadened my view of the world.”

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Libraries also gave her a broader view of who her books are for. “I write fiction that I hope entertains the people who use public libraries,” she says. “Working in local public libraries gave me an idea of the types of people who are avid readers. Working at the state level made it clear to me that those people exist beyond my back door.”

We asked her what the ideal future looks like for libraries, both for readers and writers. She pointed out the importance of librarians helping patrons to take full advantage of the library’s resources. She says, “Libraries have done that for many years, but it takes continued training and understanding to offer a broad collection and the attendant assistance. Ideally, libraries of the future would continue to offer a range of resources online as well as in person, expanding their digital holdings over what libraries have access to now and maintaining access to physical collections.”

Making information accessible to lots of different people is also important to Nork. In order to maintain this in the future, she points out that it’s crucial to fund libraries well so they can carry out this mission. “Access to information is huge for writers and readers. They will continue to benefit from their connection with libraries. The question, of course, is where does the funding come from to continue that access?”

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Like many of the authors we’ve interviewed here at EveryLibrary, Nork has fond memories of going to the library as a child. It’s amazing how many careers got their start from parents fostering their children’s interest in reading. “One of the greatest joys of my early life was going to the library and checking out books,” she says. “Because the library was not close to my house, it was an event that took time to achieve. My mother drove me to the library, helped me sign up for my first library card, and helped me choose books and carry them home. Over the years, that process evolved into a more elaborate schedule that ended with a visit to the library to both return books and find new ones, sometimes including bringing my friends from school.”

Nork also associates libraries with calm, helpful professionalism — a balm in a world that can be chaotic. Libraries are a place to go both to help others and to be helped. “My memories as a patron, beyond those trips with my mother, include research visits that required assistance from librarians. They were always so knowledgeable and efficient. It’s probably what encouraged me to study librarianship later. As a professional, my favorite memories include times when I was able to help a student with last-minute research. The look of gratitude on their faces meant so much to me. The skill and knowledge it took to be able to pull out the right book for their assignment was invaluable.”

She points to libraries as a crucial part of how she first became a writer. “If I hadn’t had exposure to libraries from the time I was in grade school through my college and early writing years, I wouldn’t have pursued writing so enthusiastically. I find much inspiration in simply perusing shelves of books — and sometimes just watching others find their way.”

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