Eastman started working at the Cleveland Public Library in 1892 as an apprentice, and in 1894 took charge of the West Side Branch Library, where she established "The Open Shelf", a newsletter for library patrons highlighting new releases. Eastman left for a better position in the Dayton Library System in 1895 but returned quickly when Brett offered her the position of vice-Librarian. In that position, Eastman helped implement Brett's revolutionary and highly successful open shelf system, whereby patrons could choose their own titles from library shelves rather than having to ask library staff to retrieve books from restricted stacks.