BINGHAMTON, NY – "Binghamton University Libraries: Embracing Traditional Values, Enhancing User Experiences and Employing Transformative Technologies," will be the topic of the Binghamton University Forum luncheon program on Tuesday, Jan. 14. Lunch will begin at 11:30 a.m. and the program will start at noon in the Old Union Hall of the University Union.

Guest speaker John Meador, Jr., Binghamton University dean of libraries and tenured faculty member, will discuss how the libraries are the center to the University’s intellectual community, providing a welcoming environment for the creation and management of knowledge through innovative thinking, open inquiry and collaborative partnerships.

Previously, Meador served as dean of university libraries and professor at the University of Mississippi; dean of library services, professor and head of the Library Science Department at Missouri State University; and assistant director for public services at the University of Houston Libraries, culminating as head of general reference and tenured associate professor.

Meador is internationally recognized as a library innovator and change agent, especially in the realms of information technology and organizational development. While dean at MSU, he automated the library with hits first online catalog (NOTIS), introduced the first public computing lab on campus, developed the Bibliographer’s Workstation, and opened a library store selling Apple Computer products to the campus. At Old Miss, he installed a second-generation integrated library system (Innovative Interface), completed a $15 million library expansion, acquired several distinguished special collections and increased the library endowment from $1.5 to $13.5 million. Under his leadership, Binghamton introduced three information commons, value-added single search across multiple collections and North America’s first academic library installation of the Rosetta digital preservation system (Ex Libris) that is being used as the foundation for a digital library.

Meador has given invited presentations at the University of Hong Kong, Beijing Normal University, the National Academy of Chinese Theatre Arts, ETH Zurich, the University of Manchester, Universitaets-und Landesbibliothek Dusseldorf, KTH in Stockholm and Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. Last June, he was keynote speaker for 400 Chinese librarians attending an academic library conference in Changchun, China.

The Binghamton University Forum is a membership organization comprised of business, professional and community leaders that brings nationally known authorities to speak at functions throughout the year. For more information, call the Forum office at (607) 777-4390.