A Brief History
Paulina Springs Books was founded in 1992 in Sisters OR as the Paulina Springs Book Company
by Dick Sandvik and Diane Campbell. They believed the small town of Sisters and its many visitors were ready to support a bookstore. Dick and Diane created a bookstore with high appeal to readers of many persuasions, and over time it came to be known far and wide. Many folks who visited Sisters only once a year would come with a book list compiled over the year to make all of their literary purchases from Paulina Springs.
Early on Dick & Diane began hosting author events, bringing a welcome new cultural element to the small town community to complement the many cultural opportunities the town had to offer (such as the reknowned Sisters Folk Festival co-founded by Dick.) Six months after opening the store they hired Sue Tank, who continues to be a vital member of the staff today.
In 2003 the store was purchased by Brad Smith. After spending 25 years managing the Community Food Co-op in Bellingham, Brad moved to Central Oregon and began looking for a new community connected endeavor. After visiting Paulina Springs he was impressed by the strong sense of community Dick & Diane had achieved with their store and decided to take the plunge into the business of selling books. In addition to Sue, Bunny Thompson was working in the store at the time of the purchase and she too is still instrumental in shaping the character of the store.
In 2008 Brad joined forces with his sister Cynthia Claridge, and opened a second location for Paulina Springs in the nearby town of Redmond. This significantly larger community had lacked a bookstore for many years and they felt the readers of Redmond deserved one.
Today, both stores contribute to their respective communities in various ways. Authors from all over the country are hosted in the two stores bringing entertaining and stimulating experiences to the community twice monthly. We support dozens of community organizations, events, and civic endeavors with donations, resources and time commitments. We are true neighbors to our shoppers with commitment to nurturing healthy, sustainable communities where our stores serve.
We appreciate the relationships and the loyalties we enjoy with our customers.
