What the Library Means To Sarah Snell

To Sarah, libraries are places where curiosity, knowledge and imagination take flight for everyone.

“It pleases me to see families bringing their children and babies to the library. Books nourish the mind and heart with stories, offering opportunities to learn and have fun,” says Sarah Snell.

Books nourish the mind and heart with stories, offering opportunities to learn and have fun.”

Sarah’s mother, an avid reader, got Sarah a library card at Tulsa’s Red Fork branch when she was three years old. Her favorite childhood book was Georgie by Robert Bright, a gentle 1944 story about a shy little ghost. She checked it out 43 times. With themes of belonging and purpose, the book tells young readers that things which seem spooky can be mild and helpful. On Sarah’s college move-in day, she was delighted to find that her mother packed a copy of the book along with a tin of cookies.

After the family moved to Wichita, Sarah frequented several branches:  Minisa, Sweetbriar, and especially the one at Dillons Tallgrass. Today she’s a regular at the Advanced Learning Library, relying on its reference materials and tech help, and perusing new non-fiction works. She also enjoys the bright, renovated Rockwell branch with its convenient drive-through window.

Sarah first connected with Wichita’s homeless and medically underserved community while working at Wesley Medical Center and later Grace Med Health Clinics. Since retiring, she’s taken up photography, capturing powerful images of people living on the streets. Her work was featured in a 2026 exhibition at Harvester Arts. She takes time to learn each person’s story: “They didn’t wake up one day and think ‘I’m going to be homeless.’” Like Georgie the ghost, her photos reveal the unfamiliar can be gentle rather than frightening.

Beyond activities with the photography group Photoworx, Sarah is a volunteer photographer for Tallgrass Film Festival, Wichita Public Library Foundation, the MS Society, Meaningful Life Foundation of Wichita, Wichita Riverfest, Park City Public Library, and other organizations.

“I love being around books and book people,” Sarah says. She sees the library as a vital community resource and values the many programs that are offered.

I love being around books and book people.”

A nonfiction fan, she recently read Lady Justice: Women, the Law, and the Battle to Save America by Dahlia Lithwick and reread The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat by Oliver Sacks. Sarah also uses her Library card and listens to fiction audiobooks via Libby. Patricia Cornwell’s Kay Scarpetta books are favorites. She belongs to a ten-person book club focused on nonfiction and history.