Greg Hutchinson-SVC Class of 1980.
I was a student at Saint Vincent College from the fall semester of 1978 through December of 1980.
I earned my Masters of Library Science at the University of Pittsburgh in December of 1990 and, after a short stint in
the Science and Technology department of the main Carnegie Library in Pittsburgh, moved south. I have been a reference librarian
with the Dekalb County Public Library in Decatur, Georgia since March of 1991. Being a librarian has allowed me to combine
my love of books with a daily opportunity to help people. My background in English has been especially useful given the number
of high school and college literature assignments we regularly see. (I once was asked "Has anyone ever written any literary
criticism about William Shakespeare?" I told the young man that I was pretty sure someone had.)
My career has afforded me a number of special opportunities. While at Pitt, I learned from nationally known educators
in the Library Sciences field. Through membership in the American Library Association, I have had the opportunity to travel
to national conferences and, no less importantly, see places like Wrigley Field in Chicago! The Dekalb County Public Library
is the home for the Georgia Center for the Book which has brought scores of well-known authors such as E.L. Doctorow, Pat
Conroy, Bernard Cornwell and James McPherson into the auditorium of our Decatur main branch library. For someone who works
with and loves books, it's a great thrill to see the name on the cover become the artist behind the podium.
I have worked as a public librarian for my entire career but I have colleagues who have moved on to academic libraries
and libraries with private businesses. Many others write reviews and are published regularly in our professional journals
and one, very recently, had his first book published. Still others are working their way up in our library system's administration
and are currently overseeing the planning and construction of several new branches.
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