Meet the Staff: Alex Johnatakis

The mission of the Caldwell Public Library is to "provide services and information to connect, enrich, and inspire our community." Library staff strive to provide the best possible experience for our users - both in-person and online. We understand the importance of building trust with our users and helping them find the resources they need. Over the next several months, we will highlight each of our staff members and the work they do to provide excellent library services to you - our users.

Hello! I’m Alex, and I am the Technology Services Coordinator here at the Caldwell Public Library. I just joined this amazing team over the summer. Previously, I was with Meridian Library District, in their technology branch, unBound. Depending on the day, you’ll find me at my desk, in the network closet, or in our makerspace. My favorite part of what I do is getting to geek out with people about technology. I love talking about “the next cool thing” … did you know there’s a 3D printer that will print in almost any food substance? And someone’s working on a machine that folds your laundry?

I have a Bachelors in English, and my all-time favorite book is The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy. IMO, it was the first of the masked-vigilante genre, and also it’s swooningly romantic and surprises me every time I read it.

One of my pet projects is tying board games into learning how to code. Playing board games uses a lot of the same principles of pattern recognition, decomposition, and creating algorithms. That, and I really love board games. My favorite moments in any game are first, the slightly overwhelming feeling when you initially read the rules and second, that moment, usually in the second or third playthrough when it all the sudden clicks and you can start playing around within the rules and strategizing. Something you’ll hear me say a lot, in both games and real life, is “I don’t know, but let’s find out” because you can’t learn something if you think you already know it.

If you have questions about 3D printing, computer issues, or want to tell me about a “next cool thing” come find me and we can geek out.