Susan Eshleman has had a wealth of life experiences that have led her to her new position as the director of the Quarryville Library. She grew up in Narragansett, Rhode Island. From 1987 to 1991, she attended Rhode Island College, where she received her bachelor's degree in English with a minor in linguistics. Unsure of her next move, Susan studied office and business administration at the Katharine Gibbs School.

After spending almost a year taking business courses, Susan found herself back at square one questioning what to do with her life, so she decided to volunteer at a public library in Narragansett. "And that sort of did it for me," said Susan. By 1999, Susan had her master's degree in library science with a concentration in school library media. Since then, she has worked in five different libraries and taught English overseas at universities in China for 12 years. "I taught at a bunch of different universities through programs where students would study English for two years and then for the next two years they would go to the partnership university (in another country)," explained Susan.

In 2019, Susan left China and moved to Pennsylvania after her mother, Ruth Eshleman, fell and injured her back. Ruth had retired in the Lancaster County area because she was born and raised in Millersville and wanted to be closer to her family. Knowing that she wanted to be within a reasonable driving distance to her 91-year-old mother, Susan applied for several library positions in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Delaware. Although Susan accepted a part-time position as a director at Robesonia Community Library in November of 2020, she was still applying for jobs elsewhere. That's how she found herself serving as the full-time director of the Quarryville Library in August of 2021.

"I like the fact that I have a really dedicated, wonderful staff," said Susan. "They really work well together, they're so dedicated, and they're so happy to be here. That's the kind of environment that I really wanted for myself."

As director, Susan said she wants to make the Quarryville Library a destination for the community. "I think we have an opportunity here to be able to do that because we have 10 municipalities that we serve, which is about 38,000 households," noted Susan. "Having a place where people can congregate together and do things together is a good thing to have, and I'm hoping we can build the library in that direction."

Located at 357 Buck Road, Quarryville, the Quarryville Library has several upcoming events for people of all ages. Among them are a Lego Block Party on Thursday, Dec. 16, from 6 to 7 p.m.; a Gingerbread House Event on Saturday, Dec. 18, from 10 to 10:45 a.m.; and Holiday Fun With Robots on Tuesday, Dec. 28, from 1 to 2 p.m. For a complete list of events and programs, visit http://www.quarryvillelibrary.org.

"Please come visit and please tell us what you want and what you need from us," added Susan. "I enjoy being here doing what I do, I enjoy being with my staff, I enjoy learning the job that I'm doing here, and I'm enjoying meeting the people who live in my community."