Creator Five: Shanna Hollich
Driving into Hanover (Pennsylvania) on Route 94, one can't help but notice the large, grand building that introduces the driver to the downtown area. The Guthrie Memorial Library's history dates to 1911 and serves as a hub for many of the town's services.
At the helm since 2021 is Shanna Hollich, the Library Director. Her work oversees not only the library staff and the holdings but also involves her interacting with other parts of the library's structure, such as the York County Libraries, the Borough of Hanover, the Board of Governors, the Friends of the Library, the Hanover Public Library Association, and of course, the patrons from Hanover and the surrounding area.
Her educational background covers many areas, including linguistics and philosophy, library and information sciences, technology integration, and data analytics. Prior work experience comprises a wide range of experiences, including the Adams County Library System, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Central Library, and Wilson College. Her research has led to more than a dozen published articles and works.
A public library is deeply intertwined with the culture of a community, and the staff members of our libraries help shape the creative output of these same towns and their citizens. Hollich exemplifies this, and we'll see how via this Creator Five look.
1) A visual artist may paint, and a chef may cook. Shanna's work and avocations both involve creativity. As she notes, "I'm a librarian - I make books appear on shelves and in hands. I make suggestions, I make waves, I make book chapters and journal articles. I make music… I make things. I knit, I cross stitch, I sew."
2) What's Hollich's day like, and where and when does she create?
"I am a night owl. I dutifully get up and come to work by 8 or 9 AM each day because that's when most of the rest of the world is at work, and I need to interact with most of the rest of the world to do my job successfully. But it's at about 5 PM or later each night that my creative juices really start flowing, and that's when I'll stay late to write a book chapter or a journal article, or go attend a rehearsal for one of the bands or orchestras I play with, or head to a friend's house and start working on a knitting or embroidery project."
When we work, our workspace can give some insight into our personalities. For example, Shanna tells us that she loves knick-knacks and has many unusual things on her desk. The following are three that she shares with us.
"A small rubber duck that is dressed up as a gnome — a gnome duck!"
"A pair of enamel pins with famous sayings from some of my favorite comic books: 'I am burdened with glorious purpose' and 'With great power comes great responsibility.'"
And the last, "small LEGO models of an old-school library card catalog and a library book drop. The drawers in the card catalog actually open, and the book drop actually opens up! In fact, the book drop comes complete with some little LEGO books inside of it, and it also includes some "librarian humor" - a little LEGO spider and a LEGO banana, to represent some of the other bizarre things librarians often find stuffed into the book drops."
3) Even for rabid readers and library users, there are likely some misunderstandings about the work of library staff members, and we rarely get a look at them outside of the library walls.
"I'm certainly not what most folks would consider a traditional "artist," though I do think of myself as a creator. I've been lucky enough to build up multiple parts of my life so that I can be creative in lots of different ways. Librarianship is a very creative profession (no, really!). I spend a big part of my librarian time finding creative solutions to problems - how do we make magic happen on a small budget with limited staff time, how do I get knowledge and information into the hands of the people who need it the most, how can I rearrange the shelving units or the furniture or the displays to make them both visually appealing for our guests but also maximally useful, etc. There's a lot of creativity in that."
"I'm also a professional classical musician, and people don't often realize just how easy it is to get back into playing an instrument or singing with a choir, especially if you did it when you were in high school. Haven't opened your instrument case in 40 years? That's okay! Dust it off and come sit in on a few community band rehearsals - you'll pick it up again in no time. A lot of people worry that they're "not good enough," but the whole point of making music isn't to be "good" it's to bring the joy of music to yourself and the people around you. Have fun, make mistakes, get messy - that's what life is all about."
4) And if she's looking for fun on a day off, she's influenced by growing up in Lebanon County, so she'll head northeast.
"I love taking a day trip to Hershey, since we spent so much time there growing up. I'd ride the ride at ChocolateWorld (and I can tell you, in detail, how they have changed the song over the years), wander the Hershey Gardens, maybe relax a little at the Spa or the Lodge, have dinner at Houlihan's. I have a good friend who works at The Hershey Story museum, so I'd definitely have to stop there for a visit. Maybe take a trip up to the Antique Auto Museum or make the trek out to Indian Echo Caverns."
Shanna's favorite ice cream flavor is Turkey Hill Double Dunker. "I have recently discovered Trader Joe's dark chocolate peanut butter cups, and they are my new favorite thing (sorry, Reese's)."
5) Hanover's Library Director has had a wide variety of experiences in numerous educational and work situations and can offer us some wise advice.
"I spent most of my life worrying about being the best I could be at everything I tried. And I think that's an admirable goal, and it drove me to be a straight-A student and a high achiever. But I didn't always feel fulfilled, and I wasn't always the nicest person to be around because I was so goal-oriented.
"And then I saw a really great webcomic on Twitter with an adorable dog that said: 'No need be best. Only good and kind.' Along similar lines, a colleague of mine in the American Library Association always says: 'Do good. Be kind. Read comics.' — which has now become the unofficial motto for the Graphic Novels and Comics Round Table of the ALA, where I serve on the board.
"I try to keep those bits of advice at the forefront of all that I do. I won't always be the best. I will often fall down and make mistakes. But I strive to do good and be kind. The world always needs a little more goodness and a lot more kindness."
Shanna Hollich's publications can be found here:
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7524-2651
The Guthrie Memorial Library is found online at:
https://www.yorklibraries.org/hanover-guthrie
And on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/GuthrieMemorialLibrary
Libraries had held a presence in Hanover since at least 1817, when the Hanover Library Company, a subscription library, was opened. The library as we know it, in its current location near the center of town, was dedicated on October 3rd, 1911. Construction had cost $80,000.
Hanover Public Library, 1913 Postmark
Miss Champlin had been hired the April before opening to begin collecting and organizing incoming books, working in two rooms at the nearby Eichelberger School. Hanover's schools donated a substantial portion of their collection. These roughly 2,000 books were increased by another 1,600 from the library of St. Mark Lutheran Church. By opening day, the number reached 5,100 — with 141 being checked out on that occasion.
Hanover’s Young Memorial Library, 1922
The collection and use have grown impressively, with an average of 559 items checked out daily in September 2022, and the collection has just surpassed 100,000 items. In addition to the holdings, programming is thriving, with 1,400 individuals participating in sixty-six programs in the same month.
Guthrie Memorial Library
2 Library Place, Hanover, Pennsylvania
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All works copyright Shanna Hollich or Andrew T. Smith.