1st employee of Northland Public Library named Ross Citizen of the year

The first employee of Northland Public Library has been honored by her hometown.

Willa Neil, 79, received the 2023 the Durachko-Gottfried Ross Township Citizen of the Year Award at the December commissioners meeting.

After volunteering at the Shaler North Hills Public Library during her high school and college years, she earned a master’s degree in library science at the University of Pittsburgh. She started at Northland in 1968 and spent most of her 55-year career there as the children’s librarian.

Within two years of starting in the position, Neil had expanded the children’s department to 15,000 items, according to Nicholas Yon, the library’s director of communications,

“It was one of the most extensive child collections in the county,” he said. “That was because of Willa and her knowledge.”

She retired in September but still volunteers at the library in McCandless throughout the week. She said that she is excited to be able to spend more time with her family, especially her grandchildren, and to have time to read.

Neil was nominated for the award by community members and Dan DeMarco, president of Ross’ Board of Supervisors.

“I didn’t know what would come of it,” Neil said. “I was certainly excited and humbled. I thought I was just doing my job. To be rewarded in such a way was wonderful.”

Yon said that parents would often come to the library to tell Neil that she taught them how great reading is and how they’re bringing their children, nieces, nephews and grandkids to the library to read. He added that Neil had an uncanny ability to make connections with patrons of all ages that further cultivated the library community.

Neil said those types of experiences “light up my life.”

“It means that what I believed in, what I still believe in, is true,” she said. “For the development of children into adults, it’s essential to have a love of reading.”

Her personal favorites are historical books or any story that talks about the past.

“I don’t think we know where we’re going until we know where we’ve been,” she said.

When Neil announced her retirement, her friends at the library announced a surprise of their own. In honor of her passion for libraries and higher education, the library, in partnership with the Northland Public Library Foundation, established the Willa Neil Librarian Scholarship.

Yon said that Neil had a habit of inspiring and encouraging Northland staff members to pursue their master’s degrees in library and information science. To continue that legacy, the scholarship will benefit Northland employees who are enrolled in an MLIS program.

Neil has been honored by North Hills School Board for her storytelling sessions and by Ross commissioners for her work with the library.

“The thing about receiving a Citizen’s Award is that there are so many people in any community that contribute,” she said. “They’re people who care about each other, who step up to the plate and do something. It’s not just one person. It’s a community.”

Founded in 2019, the Durachko-Gottfried Ross Township Citizen of the Year Award is presented annually to a Ross resident or group of individuals making a meaningful and significant impact on the community.