 Upon receiving his accounting degree, Atkinson studied English at the University of Chicago, and then received his Masters in Library Science from the University of Chicago Graduate Library School
while working in the University Library as a rare books assistant.Atkinson's professional library career began at Pennsylvania Military College, where he worked from 1958 to 1961 as a reader services librarian.From 1961 to 1967 he held several positions at the State University of New York at Buffalo library, as head of reference, assistant director for technical services, and as acting assistant director of the Health Sciences Libraries.