The Lopez Island Library welcomes Malia Sanford to the role of programs coordinator. She will be taking over the position from Kristina Moen, who is departing the library in August to volunteer with the Peace Corps in Lesotho. Sanford brings a wealth of experience to the Lopez Library and has deep roots in the island community. She first came to Lopez Island as a child in the early 1990s, when her family spent summers camping at Spencer Spit and later at their own property. She spent her freshman year at Lopez Island High School and worked at Camp Nor’Wester in college.

“My childhood and adolescent experiences and connections made this landscape and community feel like home on a deep level,” said Sanford. “So when I had a baby many years later, and was given the opportunity to live on the piece of land I camped on as a kid, it just felt like the stars aligned.”

Sanford has over 10 years of experience in nonprofit administration, specifically in the realm of arts and cultural programming. She received her Master’s in Art in critical writing from the California College of Arts and has worked for the Sundance Institute — which produces the annual Sundance Film Festival — and in the Education and Public Programs department at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Sanford’s role as programs coordinator will include managing the “art in the library” program, formerly run by volunteer Meg Ryan, in which local artists display their work at the Lopez Library.

“I am thrilled about the programming possibilities that will stem from merging these roles,” said Sanford. “Visual culture is an incredible tool for literacy, discourse and discovery, and I plan to incorporate more arts-and-film-based programs into the library’s offerings.”

The Lopez Island Library was founded in 1949 to provide resources and services for the enrichment of Lopez Island residents’ cultural and recreational lives, provide information for daily living and decision-making, and to promote the love of reading and lifelong learning. Sanford believes the Lopez Library plays an integral role on the island as a stimulating and comforting public place where people can connect to each other.

“The library is a vibrant community hub, and I am excited and honored to be a working part of this public space,” said Sanford. “I want the library programs to provide opportunities for patrons to expand their individual experiences of reading, watching, listening and learning into community experiences.”

She will be supported in this goal by resources provided by the Friends of the Lopez Island Library, who raise funds for many of the library’s special programs.

Stop by the Lopez Library over the coming week to say goodbye to Moen, meet and welcome Sanford and learn more about the Lopez Library’s evolving programs and services.