Michael Janakis, MLIS was born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He has always been interested in reading, writing, and learning.

Michael attended St. John’s College in Annapolis, Maryland, where he studied the classical Liberal Arts through “the” rigorous Great Books program. St. John’s College’s Annapolis campus was rated the 8^th most rigorous college in the nation in 2011. St. John’s College is also in the top two percent of all colleges and universities in the nation for percent of alumni who go on to earn PhDs. All St. John’s students earn a BA with a double major in Philosophy and History of Mathematics & Science, with double minors in Classics and Comparative Literature. His senior essay was entitled “Why Are Flowers Beautiful? An Examination of Beauty through Goethe’s Metamorphosis of Plants.”

Michael then attended the University of Pittsburgh’s iSchool for his Master of Library & Information Science (MLIS), where he completed such work as a semester-long independent research paper entitled “Deep Roots, Long Memories: East Pittsburgh African American Libraries and Their Environments” and several archival classes.

After working at Duquesne University’s Gumberg Library for several years, including 2 years as a Research & Instruction Librarian, Michael chose create his own businesses, including Steel City Heritage Services, LLC and his editing/consulting business Pittsburgh Proofreading & Information Consulting Company.

In August 2019, Michael completed a certificate in Applied Orthodox Theology St. Stephen’s Program from the Antiochian House of Studies. It was a rigorous 3 year self-directed distance program which requires a large amount of independent reading and writing.

In the future, Michael plans to seek genealogical accreditation from the Board for Certification of Genealogists (BCG).