Sarah Keener

Sarah grew up in northern Vermont, and although she has enjoyed working and traveling around the country and world, she always manages to find her way home to the northeast. In 2020, after spending many years in Maine, Sarah moved back to Vermont to become the middle and high school librarian in nearby Hardwick. There, she wore many hats and explored audio storytelling and collaborative ethnography with VPR and the Vermont Folklife Center; documenting and celebrating youth voices through collective poetry and reflection; community connections through food, agriculture and entrepreneurship; intellectual freedom and advocacy; Makerspace and STEAM education; and a host of other community partnerships with local artists, organizations and businesses. Although the field of education has been her primary career focus, Sarah has also spent time working on organic vegetable farms, baking and cooking, metalworking, and land surveying, and she is excited to integrate her diverse interests in her work at Sterling. Now pursuing an M.Ed. in Interdisciplinary Studies at UVM, Sarah hopes to continue to explore the intersections between traditionally separated academic spheres and to identify opportunities for collaboration, creativity and communication. She looks forward to getting to know the Sterling community in order to help make the Brown Library’s diverse, multimedia print and digital and resources as inclusive and accessible as possible, both virtually and in person. She hopes the library's users will take Historical Society President Elizabeth ‘Wiz’ Dow's research advice to heart: “Don’t ask for what you think you can get: Ask for what you want.”