Naperville Public Library Selects New Executive Director

The Naperville Public Library Board of Trustees has chosen John G. Spears, a former employee, for its new executive director.

Most recently, Spears was employed as the executive director of the Joliet Public Library and previously worked as the Naperville Public Library’s 95^th Street Library manager.

He currently is working on a M.S. degree in public policy administration with an emphasis in policy research and analysis from the University of Missouri at St. Louis, according to a news release from the .

Spears will replace Donna Dziedzic who has been with the library for 15 years. She is retiring June 30.

"We had a very solid applicant pool for the position; however the board felt that John's strategic vision, ability for community outreach, and enthusiasm best positioned NPL for leadership into the future," said John Maas, a search committee and board member, in a news release.

While at the Joliet Public Library, Spears was able to raise the library’s visibility by creating partnerships with the community and government while also upgrading its technological infrastructure, according to the news release.

Spears has a M.S. degree in library and information science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.