INPERSON
New Year,
New Start
Emma Hardesty Beaver
T
his January, the new year meant a new start for Emma Hardesty Beaver as
the new Library Director for Murrysville Community Library.
Beaver, 32, who resides with her husband Brandon in Uniontown,
received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting from West Virginia University in
2008 and moved to New York City shortly after to pursue a career in theater.
“After five years, I realized I was spending more time working retail to pay the
bills than I was acting,” she says. In 2013, she moved back to Pennsylvania to
study for the GRE and apply to graduate school. Beaver began graduate school
in 2014 through Clarion’s online program in order to continue to working full
time. During her last semester, she worked part-time at the Uniontown Public
Library while doing an internship at West Virginia University’s West Virginia
and Regional History Center. Beaver graduated with a Master of Science in
Library Science in May 2016, and began as the library director for Brownsville
Free Public Library in June 2016.
“When I started at Brownsville Free Public Library, I was the only librarian
and full-time staff member, with two part-time library clerks,” she says. “It
is a wonderful little library with incredibly passionate staff and patrons. The
amazing thing about working in such a small library is that I gained experience
in every role—finance manager, outreach coordinator, program development,
children’s librarian, circulation and
reference librarian, grant writing, etc.”
With these opportunities, Beaver
was able to learn the library inside
and out—making her a stronger
librarian and better able to serve the
community.
“My time with BFPL was an incredible experience that prepared me in a
way no other library or position could have, and I am grateful that I had the
opportunity to serve Brownsville Free Public Library’s community for two and
a half years,” she adds.
Now, Beaver has started a new venture as director of Murrysville Community
Library. “Murrysville Community Library is nestled in an area that believes
in the power and value of its public library, and the chance to help serve the
Murrysville, Washington and Export areas was an extraordinary opportunity I
Emma Beaver becomes
new director of
Murrysville Community
Library.
could not pass up,” she says. With this new opportunity,
Beaver looks forward to a chance to grow and push
herself as a librarian, while also ensuring that the library
does everything it can to enrich and empower the lives of
its surrounding communities. “The energy and support
the area has for its library is astounding, and I am so
proud that I am able to be a part of it,” she adds.
While Beaver is still learning the lay of the land at MCL,
she continues to work towards her goal of ensuring that
every library is patron-centric. “Our patrons need to know
and trust their library staff, the library’s goals should be
centered on what our community needs, and I hope that
each community member knows that MCL is their library
in whatever way they need it to be,” she says.
“Libraries are essential for any community to
succeed because they are the last bastion of free and
equal access—no matter your background, age or
socioeconomic status, every citizen has equal rights and
access to all the information the world has to offer,” she
continues. “As a nonprofit, our
library has access to various
grants that can be used to
provide valuable services and
programs for our community—
libraries stand up for the
freedom to read and against censorship. Murrysville
Community Library is so important to our surrounding
communities because we offer a place for our community
to come together, individually or as a group, to enrich
their lives.”
There are always exciting events happening at
the Murrysville Community Library. Check out
murrysvillelibrary.org for a calendar of events and more
information. ■
“The energy and support the area has
for its library is astounding, and I am so
proud that I am able to be a part of it.”
MURRYSVILLE ❘
SPRING 2019
11