Spotlight On ... Mary Kay Biagini

Name: Mary Kay Biagini

Position: Associate Dean & Associate Professor

Education:
BS, English Education, California University of Pennsylvania, 1963, 
MLS, School of Library Science, Kent State University, 1965
PhD, School of Library and Information Science, University of Pittsburgh, 1980, Library Science; Higher Education [Dissertation Topic: "Measuring and Predicting the Reading Interests of Adolescents: The Development and Testing of an Instrument."]

Research interests: Continuing education; school library media center management; adult and young adult materials and reading interests.

Family: A husband and a rescued spaniel named Bruno.

What do you like about Pittsburgh? Mary Kay is a native of Pittsburgh, although she lived in Ohio for a number of years. She says, "All Pittsburghers want to come back to Pittsburgh."

Hobbies: Furniture re-finishing and collecting antiques.

How would you spend a day with no work commitments? "I'd be in Venice, or shopping for shoes."

What is your favorite place to vacation? Venice or Rome. Mary Kay and her husband have a mountain home, so weekends are frequent vacations.

Book(s) you are currently reading: Atonement by Ian McEwan, for a book club, a highly recommended book!

Favorite Book: Mary Kay says she is an "eclectic reader," and would have a hard time choosing a favorite.

Favorite Kind of Music: She is also an eclectic music fan; she mentioned classical, rock, show tunes, and zydeco, saying, "It just depends on my mood."

Favorite TV show: The Today Show is the program that Mary Kay watches most consistently, but she says that she has fallen "out of the TV habit," and would generally prefer to read or go out to a movie.