My name is Jess Shelleman (Miss Jess to the kids) and I’m the Branch Manager at Littlestown Library. I’ve been in this position for over three years, and I truly love what I do. Where else can you run a baby story time in the morning, a STEM program for kids in the afternoon, and a murder mystery for adults in the evening?! And in between, you get to have conversations with local patrons of the community and help them find the books, movies, and information they need. I previously worked in a much larger library in a different library system, but it didn’t take long for me to adjust and come to love and appreciate my small-town library in Littlestown. Working in a smaller community really allows you to get to know those you serve.
I’ve been a resident of Adams County my whole life, and have been a user of the Adams County Library System since I was a child, when the main library in Gettysburg was on East High St., a block from its current location. As a child and a teen using the Gettysburg Library, little did I know about the workings behind the scene that help to serve all areas of the county through the local branch libraries. From inter-library loans to weekly book rotations, the Gettysburg Library is the backbone of our system.
You’ll find Littlestown Library right in downtown Littlestown in the South-Western corner of Adams County. Being just a few miles from York County and Carroll County, and only a few blocks from both the Littlestown Area Schools and Stoner’s Farm, we serve community members of all ages from the Littlestown area and beyond!
While there’s been a library in Littlestown for many years, it moved to its current location at 232 North Queen St. over 11 years ago. Through the hard work, dedication, and generosity of many local community members and organizations, and the then newly formed Friends of Littlestown Library, the dream of a larger, more beautiful library to serve the community became a reality.
One of my favorite parts of the library building is our large front window. You’ll often find small handprints on the lower level of the window, as we’ve found it’s the perfect spot for out littlest patrons to stare out and watch all the cars and trucks drive by. Every summer, we also use our window to celebrate the kids who participate in our SummerQuest reading program. Each time one of the kids reaches 200 minutes of reading, they get to put their name on a design and stick it up in the window. This summer’s theme is “Oceans of Possibilities,” so naturally we’ll be turning our window into an underwater landscape and filling it with fish and other deep sea creatures! Make sure to stop by this summer to watch our window ocean grow.
Speaking of summer, we have lots of upcoming programs for all ages! While we offer programming year-round, the libraries of Adams County kick it into high gear for the summer months. We like to keep the kids and grown-ups busy all summer long. Most the programs at Littlestown Library take place in our community room, which is a great location for all sorts of programs. From story times to dinosaur bones, from video games to gardening talks, the community room is always a busy place of fun and learning. Stop by Littlestown Library and discover everything we have to offer!