Some people say they knew from a young age what they wanted to be when they grew up, but that wasn’t the case for Liz Dillman.
Though those around her recognized her love of reading and books when she was a child, Dillman would not make the connection until she had graduated college.
Today, she is one of the youth services librarians at Westerville Public Library. Dillman loves coming to work every day and seeing the faces of children and adults light up when they discover all the library has to offer.
By Rachel Karas
Finding Her Calling
Dillman grew up as an only child in the Chicago suburb of Western Springs and has been visiting libraries since her mother started taking her to baby storytimes.
As a child, Dillman read books with her father and participated in the summer reading program at her local library, eventually finding herself spending a lot of time there.
“I have always been a library person,” Dillman says. “After school, I would just hang out at the library, and then I became a team volunteer, so if you look at the trajectory, it’s like, ‘Oh, this makes sense.’ I didn’t see it at the time, but it made sense.”
She went on to study sociology at Boston College, where she met her husband, Casey, who was studying engineering.
Unsure of where she wanted to take her career, Dillman moved back home after graduating and got two part-time jobs: one at a library and another at a local bookstore. While she was working at the library, her manager recommended she look into pursuing a master’s degree in library and information sciences.
That advice stayed with her when she moved to Columbus due to her husband's career, and she finally decided to try it.
Diving headfirst into her studies, Dillman worked part-time at a library around her schedule of virtual classes and graduated with her master’s from Kent State University in December 2019.
After spending some time working at a library in Marysville during the COVID-19 pandemic, Dillman joined the Westerville Public Library staff in 2021.
Childhood Wonder
Although she enjoys working with people of all ages, Dillman feels a special connection with kids and loves seeing their reactions when she talks to them about a topic they love.
“I read teen books, kids’ books, picture books,” Dillman says. “I read those books and they’re like, ‘Oh, an adult that chooses to do this? Awesome! They know what I’m actually talking about!’”
By Robintek Photography
Over time, Dillman has been able to build on those connections thanks to the programs the library offers, including the Homework Help Center and Imagination Station, as well as visits to Westerville City Schools.
“When we do those classroom visits throughout the year, I get to know some of those kids,” she says. “Whittier Elementary School is one I’ve gone to a few times now. It’s very easy for those kids to literally walk here after school and be like, ‘You just came to my classroom, can you get me that book? Where’s that book that you just talked about?’”
One of Dillman’s favorite programs to coordinate is the month-long Wizards & Wands Festival. She refers to it as “a celebration of all things fantasy and magic,” with themed missions and performances for kids and adults.
Over the years, the festival has brought in groups such as Midwest Falconry and COSI to give demonstrations and interactive learning experiences. Dillman hopes the hands-on lessons will stick with participants for years to come.
“It’s seeing stuff that they can learn about in the library … come to life,” Dillman says. “Just seeing all of their fantasy worlds that they may read about in books as well literally come to life.”
Investing in the Future
While she is excited to see what she can do next, Dillman appreciates the support and encouragement she has gotten from her team and the leadership at Westerville Library.
Westerville Public Library Staff during their annual Wizards and Wands Festival. By Robintek Photography
“I love it here at Westerville. It’s the library that always says, ‘Oh yeah, we’ll figure out how to do that,’” she says. “Wizards & Wands is the biggest example of ‘Oh, we’ll figure it out. We have a dragon on our roof.’”
Dillman hopes to continue expanding the programs and events offered through the library – especially in areas related to science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics (STEAM) – to offer even more unique learning experiences through attractions such as robots.
No matter where the future takes Dillman and the Westerville Library, she hopes the energy and excitement kids have when they walk through those doors will never change.
“Here, kids get to make a lot of choices for themselves,” she says. “They get to choose what they get to read and what they do in the library. They can be on a computer playing Minecraft. They could be playing an imaginary game. They could be just coloring. They could be doing whatever. This becomes more their space and kids don’t have a lot of spaces that they get to claim as their own. ”
Fun Fact!
When Liz Dillman isn’t in the library or reading a book, she loves collecting rubber ducks. Her collection, which has at least 300 ducks, includes a wide array of designs and colors, including some reading-related ones.
Rachel Karas is an editor at CityScene Media Group. Feedback welcome at rkaras@cityscenemediagroup.com.
