Most (if not all) Eastern students will spend some time in the Warner Library during their time here. Whether it is doing homework, reading a book for a class, or just using the space for quiet studying, the library is a space that is well utilized by the community. One of the staff members of the library, Chelsea Post, has a lifelong connection to not only the library, but to Eastern.
From the time Post was a young child, she has been an Eastern Eagle. Her father, John Post, has been the Athletic Trainer at Eastern for practically her whole life. Post can recall visiting campus as a young child and toddling around the athletics fields. “I can remember when Eagle wasn’t even built and Sparrowk was still called North Campus Hall,” Post remarked with a chuckle.
Post started her academic career at Eastern in 2007 and eventually graduated from Eastern in 2011 with a degree in English Literature. During her last year at Eastern, Post did not know what she wanted to do with her degree. A friend suggested that Post become a librarian since her job would include hanging around books all day. After taking the suggestion, Post began applying to Library Science graduate programs across the country. She eventually got into and attended Drexel University’s highly acclaimed library science program. Post graduated from Drexel in 2013.
Before coming back to Eastern, Post made a pit stop at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary and served as the seminary librarian. In 2016, Post returned to Eastern as the Systems librarian. “I manage a lot of the back end stuff with the online databases,” said Post when describing the responsibilities of a Systems librarian. Over the past five years in her position, Post has also become in-charge of acquisitions: “I have more responsibility for deciding what actually gets added to the [library’s] collection” she stated. Post emphasized the increase in electronic books and the expansion of Eastern’s databases that has occurred recently, especially with the rise of COVID.
When asked about her favorite part of her job, Post did not hesitate to say it was her interactions with students. “It’s the parts that aren’t even necessarily in my job description,” she smiled, “being on the floor, talking with the students, figuring out what they want to research… helping others find what they need, that’s my favorite part”.
One job that Post (as well as other members of the library staff) does is research consultations, where students collaborate with Post to do research through the online databases and books in the library. These consultations are completely free to Eastern students, and many have voiced their gratitude for the assistance they received. Senior Lindsey Thompson said that Post was incredibly helpful when it came time to work on her capstone project: “she didn’t have the exact answer I needed, she was able to offer suggestions to work around the problem. She really gave me the tools I needed to get my research done.”
Whether it is her time as a family member, student, or staff member, Chelsea Post has always been a proud member of the Eastern community, and Eastern is lucky to have her.
Lenora Kirkland 
Colin Tomczak 
Ella Curcuruto