EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT

DATE: 11:30 a.m.- 1 p.m. Tuesday, April 17, 2012.

EVENT: Paul N. Courant, University of Michigan dean of libraries and professor in the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, will lead the presentation, “Digitizing Books—Libraries in the Age of Google.”

In December 2004, Google announced a partnership with five research libraries — including the University of Michigan — to digitize large parts of these great libraries’ collections. Since then, Google has digitized 16 million books with profound consequences for libraries, publishers, universities and the transmission of knowledge.

Courant will lead a discussion of how the transformation extends beyond universities, and broadly affects the economy and society.

In addition to his appointment as university librarian and dean of libraries, Courant is the Harold T. Shapiro Collegiate Professor of Public Policy, Arthur F. Thurnau Professor, professor of economics and professor of information at U-M. From 2002-2005, he served as provost and executive vice president for academic affairs, the chief academic officer and the chief budget officer of the university.

Courant’s recent academic work has considered the economics of universities, the economics of libraries and archives, and the effects of new information technologies and other disruptions on scholarship, scholarly publication, and academic libraries.

PLACE: Speaker’s Library, Room 252, State Capitol Building, Lansing

SPONSORS: The Wolverine Caucus Forum, University of Michigan Office of Government Relations, and Alumni Association, and is one in a series of Wolverine Caucus Forums held in Lansing and East Lansing.