| Michael Catoggio loves being a librarian. He recently moved from his job as Humanities Librarian at Loussac Library in Anchorage, where he spent 25 hours a week looking for new books to build the library's collections of literature, philosophy, history, and religion, to another great job: reference librarian at the University of Alaska Anchorage.
Michael was born and raised in upstate New York. "When I was in high school," he says, "I got a job at the public library in Albany. I was amazed by how much was going on there, book readings, writing events, sometimes hundreds of people would show up with paper bag lunches." He was immediately taken in by the diverse happenings and people of the library, and decided to work in the field of literature.
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| Michael Catoggio |
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Michael earned a Master's in Library Science from the University of Albany, State University of New York, and in his early thirties he decided to move out West. In 1981, he came to visit a friend in Anchorage, fell in love with her, eventually married her; and they have been living here ever since. "Some day," he says, "we will return to upstate New York." But for now, Michael is a central figure for Alaskans who love books.
Michael is also the past board president of the Alaska Center of the Book, whose mission is to promote literacy throughout the state. ABC is the sponsor of the enormously popular Writing Rendezvous, a writing conference they organize each spring, held at University of Alaska, in Anchorage. Hundreds of people come each year to listen to writers, editors, and professors from Alaska and the lower forty-eight discuss the different aspects of writing.
It's not very often you meet someone who loves his job the way Michael loves being a librarian. If you are ever in need of some information, Michael is happy to answer your questions with a friendly smile.
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