Natalie Bazan Sarosta, who was library director at Hopkins and director of the Dorr Township Library for four years, continues as director of the North Riverside Library in Illinois.

She came to Hopkins in 2011 and then served concurrently as director of both Hopkins and Dorr for four years. She left in 2017 and got married to James Sarosta in 2018 and took on her job in Illinois.

While in this area she was famous for securing state and federal grants. She also was controversial in that she and the Hopkins Township board had serious issues about payments for use of the library building.

She graduated from Hamilton High School and then earned bachelor’s degrees at Grand Valley State University, in German and Russian, with a history minor.  Bazan then attended the University of Kansas, earning a master’s degree in Slavic language and literature before earning yet another master’s degree in library science from the University of Illinois.

While attending classes, she worked in the libraries at both Kansas and Illinois colleges for a combined three years and then spent six months as a substitute librarian in the Kent District Library system.

She and Jim Sarosta now are raising a family in Illinois.