New Jefferson Hills Public Library director Dana Farabaugh turned fantasy to reality

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Three things helped Dana Farabaugh, Jefferson Hills Public Library’s new director, expand her mind and look beyond her family farm – a lion, a witch and a wardrobe.

“The Chronicles of Narnia” was her introduction to fantasy novels and became the Carrolltown, Cambria County woman’s favorite escape from the town of fewer than 1,000 people.

“In some ways, it was nice because you kind of knew everybody,” she said about her hometown. “It was really small. I guess in some ways I had the idyllic childhood where I was just running around a farm with a bunch of cousins, but I kind of knew that whenever I went to high school that I didn’t want to stay there.”

The cattle farm had been in the family for several generations. A few cows remain. It is mostly used for the making and selling hay.

Farabaugh said she remembers when there were chickens and two Belgium horses used to tow a wagon.

“I didn’t have to work on the farm because I’m actually allergic to hay and couldn’t be in the barn very long, not a great quality for a farmer,” she said. “I mostly just hung out with my grandma while the guys were working.”

She grew up with her mother, Debbie, father, Fred, and younger brother, Luke.

“I think it’s really made me value family,” Farabaugh said. “No matter what, they’re there. Every family has arguments and disagreements and rough patches. At the end of the day, I know who I can call if I needed help, and I know that they would answer.”

The book

The book was tucked away in the Carrolltown Public Library, where Farabaugh’s mother would volunteer to do storytime when Luke was a young boy.

“I still remember finding ‘The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe’ on the shelf and reading it, and just being completely entranced by it and wanting more,” Farabaugh said. “Because it’s fantasy, I think it was just so far away from what I was living.

“I didn’t read a lot of ‘Little House on the Prairie’ or anything because I know what it’s like growing up on a farm with family around. With ‘(Narnia)’ it was really an escape. I’ve been drawn to fantasy ever since. I read a lot of it still.”

The Carrolltown library would provide a lot more family memories.

“My mom would take us there all the time when we were kids,” Farabaugh said. “We were probably there almost every week. I love to read, so I’m sure for my mom it was a cost-saving. She probably didn’t want to keep paying for books for me to blow through.”

Farabaugh wrote for the school paper at Cambria Heights High School and graduated in 2007.

She would begin a storybook-style life with twists and turns leading her to Jefferson Hills.

Career training

Farabaugh studied journalism at the University of Pittsburgh and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in English writing in 2011.

However, she dropped the idea of reporting during her sophomore year. She would intern at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh’s communications and creative services department and change her focus.

“Institutions like public libraries build strong communities. They help people and can be community centers,” she said. “I still write. It’s just not the fun, creative stuff as much. It’s grant writing and stuff like that. I went in a different direction.”

Farabaugh earned a master’s in library science from Pitt in 2012 and got a job as director of Portage Public Library in Cambria, County. She and two part-timers handled everything.

“I had to do everything from developing and managing a budget and applying for grants to shoveling the sidewalk, and sometimes cleaning the bathroom because it needed to be done,” she said. “It was tough, but I look back on it now and I think that job has probably served me the best. I can understand libraries in a way that people who have never worked at a small library can’t.”

Farabaugh also was one of three information and community education librarians at the Altoona Area Public Library and served as a district consultant for libraries in Westmoreland County before taking the reins in Jefferson Hills this year.

Library history

Jefferson Hills Public Library was founded in 1959. It was staffed by volunteers until Joyce Schmidt became the library director in 1963. She served as director for 33 years. Jan Reschenthaler took over in 1996 and was the library director for 24 years.

Farabaugh, who spent her first couple weeks on the job virtually due to the pandemic, said Reschenthaler made the transition very smooth.

“We talked on the phone a lot,” Farabaugh said. “She was really, really helpful and so nice and just so encouraging. The employees have all been really great, too. Especially the first month or so being really patient with me as I figure things out.

“We’re in a really great community. We have a nice space, and I think there are lots of things that we can do to better serve our people. My experience also makes me realistic in knowing that ideas and hopes and wishes are one thing, but actually getting them done is a totally different animal.”

The library, located on the second floor of the borough building along Old Clairton Road, reopened to the public in mid-March after being closed for nearly a year. Curbside service and computer use was done via appointment.

Many programs such as yoga and storytimes are still virtual. Outdoor events may take place this summer depending on covid regulations.

Farabaugh lives in Irwin with her husband, Sean Jackson, a preschool teacher at Shady Lane in Pittsburgh.

There are a little more than 40,100 items at Jefferson Hills including digital materials. Its online circulation grew more than 30% during the pandemic.

Nearly 2,300 people have library cards and circulation in 2019 was just under 54,400.

Hour of operation are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. More information is available at jeffersonhillslibrary.org or call 412-655-7741.