Lillard is a retired academic librarian. He has published a Tennessee county history, edited and published a War with Mexico diary, and contributed a sketch of  President Andrew Johnson and the Return J. Meigs Family of DC.   While a volunteer at the National Archives here in Washington, DC, he researched, wrote, and published a history of early days in Bladensburg, MD, and a diplomatic history of the Russian ministers in Washington, DC.  He has been a member of the Rossmoor Camera Club since 2008.