Joseph McIlhenney, the new executive director of the Milanof-Schock Library, feels right at home in the library. He practically grew up in one.

"My mom worked at a hometown library, and I didn't go home after school," he recalled. "Instead, I went to the library. I spent a lot of time in the stacks and at the tables."

He spent most of his career in academic libraries but was eager to get back to the hometown atmosphere of a public library, so when the opportunity arose in Mount Joy, he took it.

"When I was thinking about librarianship as a career, that was my ideal - being a librarian in a hometown library," he explained. "The winds of my career took me other places, but this was an opportunity to get back to a library that was very much like the one I grew up in."

McIlhenney, who is originally from New Jersey, most recently worked as the library director for the Lancaster campus of HACC, Central Pennsylvania's Community College. He said he's excited about his new position, but he knows there will be challenges.

"The library director who I'm following, Barbara Basile, she left behind big shoes for me to fill," he said of the previous director, who retired in March. "I'm excited to really get started."

McIlhenney said connecting to the community is the best part of his job and the one he's looking forward to the most.

"You get to know the people who live here and the families who come in the library," he remarked. "You get to watch them grow up. Who wouldn't want this job? This is a very active library and a very active community."

When he's not at work, McIlhenney enjoys spending time with his wife, Sharon, and his grown daughter, as well as engaging in hobbies that let him work with his hands.

"Family is really important to me," he stated. "I also like to build things with wood, and I love to work on my car."

As he gets his feet wet in his new job, he said he wants to reintroduce the library to people who may have gotten out of the habit of visiting during COVID restrictions, and he wants to encourage more people to stop by.

"I'm looking forward to connecting with more folks and bringing even more people into the library," he stated. "I believe the library has a relevant place in just about everybody's life."