Diane is a Page in the Circulation Services Department of our Lockport Branch, and started in September of 2019. She graduated from Illinois State University, and earned three degrees while there: B.S. in Kinesiology, M.S. in Exercise Physiology, and B.A. English. She’s also a licensed educator.

What volunteer or professional associations are you involved in?
I volunteer at Catholic Charities at the Daybreak Shelter, and volunteer at Morton Arboretum as Safety Patrol.

What are your top three favorite books of all time?
Doctor Zhivago by Boris Leonidovich Pasternak, Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell, and anything by Agatha Christie.

Who is your favorite author of all time?
Agatha Christie!

What genres can our patrons quiz you about to find the best books to read?
Mysteries, animal care, Lockport history, and travel.

What books are on your to be read pile at home?
Madame Claude by William Stadiem, and The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris

What’s your favorite band?
One Republic

Do you have any pets?
I have four cats: Patty is 19 years old, Ernie is 11 years old, Margo and Liz who are both 10 months old. They’re all strays I either found near my home or adopted from the shelter. Margo and Liz are certainly livening up my house during COVID!!

What’s your favorite thing about working at the Library?
It’s really quiet! I enjoy being on my feet most of the day and helping the staff get what they need to serve the patrons. And I especially like to work on craft projects when the librarians need a hand with those.

What was your very first job?
I worked at the snack bar in Dellwood Park during the summer I turned 15.

What’s your favorite food?
Pasta

What’s your favorite color?
Yellow

What do you like to do in your free time?
Running, yoga, Pilates, and gardening

Who is your personal hero, and why?
My parents. They were the best example of hard-working, brave, and graceful adults a child could have. They were always consistent in their responses and solid in their support for anything we wanted to do. They were both WWII veterans (Navy and an Army nurse), worthy of admiration for anyone.

Who’s the most famous person you’ve ever met?
Al Michaels, the ABC sports announcer. I met him at the Calgary Olympics in 1988 at one of the hockey games. He was actually not very nice, but memorable.

When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
A teacher

If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you travel, and why?
Paris, a second time. There was so much we didn’t get to see. And A LOT I did see that I’d like to experience again.

What is one cool fact about you?
I can’t be swayed to do anything I really don’t want to do!