Michael Blake, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

Michael Blake, Digital Resources Librarian and Assistant Librarian for the John G. Wolbach Library and Information Resource Center, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.

Q: If you were not a librarian, what would you be?

A: If I wasn't a librarian, I would want to be a naturalist or a field biologist because I like being outdoors; the natural world is such a wonder.

Q: What is the last book you read and which book would you recommend reading?

A: I am currently in the middle of several books; Cutthroat: Native Trout of the West by Patrick Trotter, A Passion for Nature: The Life of John Muir by Donald Worster, and Track of the Cat by Nevada Barr. For history buffs I would recommend Lighthouse of the Skies: a history of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory by Bessie Zaban Jones. For those of us who work too hard and need a break, I would recommend Nail Knot by John Galligan, a fly fishing mystery story..

Q: Name one place that you would like to go back to.

A: I would like to go back to a time in my life when I was standing in a very cold mountain stream, testing out, for the first time, a bamboo fly rod my uncle had let me borrow. The excitement of learning something new and then being successful in catching that first rainbow trout on a Royal Coachman is something I treasure.

Q: If you could pick one celebrity to portray your life story in a movie, who would it be, and why?

A: Friends have suggested that Robin Williams would be the celebrity. Apparently we have many similarities.

Q: How do you like to relax after work?

A: To relax after work I take a walk down to the pond and do some fishing or head to the garden for its ever demanding care.

Q: Is your institute available on Facebook or Twitter?

A: Currently, the library is not available on Facebook or Twitter.

Q: Can you highlight three qualities of your institution?

A: The three qualities that come to mind are dedication, community, and service.

To find out more about the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, please visit the website www.cfa.harvard.edu/lib/