Michael Cockrell
- Head, Information and Reader Services
- 269-553-7841 | Email
I began my career at KPL in the spring of 1999 as lead librarian at the Alma Powell Branch and remained at the Powell branch until 2006 when I moved to the Central library and the Loan & Outreach Services department. In the fall of 2007 I became head of Information & Reader Services where I oversee the libraries print collections, reference service, Law Library, Local History Room, Tech Center, and an assortment of other library programs and services.
I work regular shifts at the reference desk on the 2nd floor of the Central Library as well as at the information desk on the 1st floor and I select books in the social science, history and biography areas of the book collection. I feel tremendous pride working for the Kalamazoo Public Library and I continue to believe in the essential need for public libraries. The way I feel about libraries was summed up much more eloquently by Carl Sagan who once said:
The library connects us with the insight and knowledge, painfully extracted from Nature, of the greatest minds that ever were, with the best teachers, drawn from the entire planet and from all our history, to instruct us without tiring, and to inspire us to make our own contribution to the collective knowledge of the human species. I think the health of our civilization, the depth of our awareness about the underpinnings of our culture and our concern for the future can all be tested by how well we support our libraries. ~ Carl Sagan, Cosmos
When not at the library, I live in the Vine Neighborhood of Kalamazoo with my wife and daughter and can often be found riding one of my bicycles, reading, or walking in the woods with my family.