Michael joined the Van Wylen Library in July 2017 as the humanities librarian. He is the acting head of the Research and Instruction team, providing instruction and research consultation as well as maintaining and developing library collections in the humanities. Michael’s scholarly interests include street art and graffiti, literary theory, popular culture and posthumanism, though he is very much a generalist. He sometimes teaches a first year seminar in which students use soccer as a lens to look at global issues. His favorite part about being a librarian is helping students.

He has previously worked at Denison University and St. Mary’s University of Minnesota.

Education

• M.S., library and information science, University of Illinois
• M.A., English and communication with specialization in TESOL, Valparaiso University
• B.A., English with a minor in psychology, Southern Illinois University

Selected Publications, Presentations, and Creative Projects

• “Research Methods Primary Sources,” The Charleston Advisor, 23(3), 51-56, 2022
• “Food and Drink in History,” The Charleston Advisor, 22 (3), 23-28, 2021
• “Wine, Viticulture, and Enology: Resources for Study,” College & Research Libraries News, 79(7), 2018
• “Knights of the Mind: Intersections and Portrayals of Librarians and Academia in HBO’s Game of Thrones,” Popular Culture Association National Conference, Indianapolis, 2018
• “African Americans and Jim Crow: Repression and Protest, 1883–1922,” CCAdvisor, 2018
• “Routledge Handbook of Graffiti and Street Art,” Reference Reviews, 32(1), 2018
• “Socialism on Film,” Reference Reviews, 32(3), 2018
• “{Darryl [Strawberry} Wine]: Librarians as Collectors,” with J. Finnell, Medium, 2015
• “Cathedrals of Culture,” ARLIS/NA, 2015
• “True Detective and Courir de Mardi Gras: The Subversion of a Ritual,” Popular Culture Association National Conference, New Orleans, 2015
• “Street art and graffiti: Resources for online study,” College & Research Libraries News, 75(4), 2014
• “QSL cards: Archival instruction with radio station records at Denison University,” The Ohio Archivist, fall 2013

Outside the College

Michael mostly grew up in Illinois, though he has also lived in Arizona, New York, Ohio, Indiana and Minnesota. He enjoys hiking, going to concerts (hip-hop, funk/jam, indie), playing and watching soccer, watching foreign films, traveling, collecting wine, practicing yoga, reading novels and visiting new breweries. He surfed in Ireland, visited Belgium on its Independence Day, has walked the ramparts of Saint-Malo, survived San Fermín in Pamplona, has visited the town of Tequila just outside of Guadalajara, Mexico, and most recently hiked in Iceland.