Susan Hill Pieper announces her retirement following 21 years of library service leadership for Paulding County.
PAULDING – Susan Hill Pieper, Librarian and Director of Paulding County (OH) libraries has announced her retirement as of May 1, 2019. Pieper has led the county’s Carnegie library system for over 21 years.
Board of Trustee President, Sue Derck shared, “As Director of the Library, Susan was instrumental in the development of a branch library in Oakwood and in bringing the Bookmobile back to Paulding County. Because of Susan’s insight and knowledge, our Library system has stayed relevant in today’s world of technology. We wish her well as she begins the next chapter of her life; and, she can be assured that the Library system of Paulding County will continue to thrive because of her planning for the future.”
“The library team throughout the years have provided top quality library services, programs and events throughout Paulding County,” stated Pieper. “Our libraries would not have risen to the high level of service without the passion and energy of our team.”
During Pieper’s tenure, the system added a new branch and established mobile library service to better serve all citizens of Paulding County. Over one-hundred thousand dollars in grant funds have been secured over the years to expand, support and enhance library service for all citizens. Two property tax levies have passed which provide over 50% of the library budget, enabling the library system to become a true 21st Century Library with new formats, new technologies, innovative and engaging collections, and compelling programs and events. One of the more recent and popular projects was the digitization of all county newspapers back to the late 1800s, as well as all high-school yearbooks. Since January there have been over 5,000 sessions on this new database.
Considered a specialist in rural librarianship, Pieper was asked by the U.S. Department of State to travel to Romania in order to consult with library teams on how to rebuild the country’s rural library system after the fall of the communist government. Pieper was elected as a counselor-at-large for the American Library Association and has also been elected as a member of the Board of Directors for the Public Library Association. She was also a founding director of the Association for Rural and Small Libraries.
Susan began her career in libraries in 1984 when she was appointed manager of Bookmobile Services at the Huntsville (AL)-Madison County Public Library. In 1990 she was named Outstanding Youth Services Librarian from the Alabama Library Association. This award recognized her visionary bookmobile program which reached isolated families in not only rural areas but also in inner-urban housing projects. In 1991 she was offered a full assistantship with stipend to attend library school, and more specifically the Center for the Study of Rural Librarianship at Clarion University of Pennsylvania. In 1992 Susan was hired as a Youth Services Consultant for the Northwest Library District in Bowling Green, Ohio. In this capacity Susan travelled throughout 22 counties of northwest Ohio providing consultative services for everything from strategic planning for library boards to how to conduct storytimes for children’s library staff.
In 1997 she was offered the directorship of the Paulding County (OH) Carnegie Library, the first library in the United States funded by Andrew Carnegie to “serve an entire county”.
In the 2017 the library broke all records, from attendance at programs and events to the borrowing of materials, numbers have skyrocketed. “More citizens are using their public library than ever before,” stated Pieper. “Citizens have been active users of the library in recent years and in 2017 a record-breaking 290,000 items were loaned to patrons, including eBooks and other eMaterials.”
The Board of Trustees intends to begin a national, regional and state-wide search in mid-November to find the best candidate to continue maintain the momentum and growth of library service. The library team will also have a role to play in the selection of the new director.
“I am confident that the best person is out there waiting to see the posting for this important position and Paulding County will welcome their new Library Director with open arms,” shared Pieper.
For more information about Mrs. Pieper or the Paulding County (OH) Carnegie Library, please phone 419-399-2032 or e-mail Pieper at spieper@pauldingcountylibrary.org.
