R. W. (Richard W.) Meyer Photographs

R. W. (Richard W.) Meyer served as the Dean and Director of Libraries at the Georgia Institute of Technology from October 2000 until his retirement in August 2008. Prior to his appointment at Georgia Tech, he was the Director of the Library at the Elizabeth Huth Coates Library at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas for nine years. From August 1979 to July 1991, he held the position of Associate Director of Libraries at Clemson University. Earlier appointments included the Director of Library Technical Services at Indiana State University (1976-1979) and the Assistant Director for Technical Services at the University of Texas at Dallas Library (1970-1976).

After receiving a B. A. in Library Science and a B. S. in Chemistry from the University of Missouri in 1967, Meyer went on to complete an M. S. in Library Science from the University of Illinois in 1970. He worked as a graduate assistant at the University of Illinois Library during 1969-1970. He also served as Assistant Librarian at E. I. DuPont de Nemours and Co. at the Savannah River Laboratory in Aiken, South Carolina between 1967 and 1969. In his first position after receiving his M. S. degree, at the University of Texas at Dallas Library, Meyer served as Assistant Director and developed the Library's technical services department. He was in charge of the Library's budget, and he guided UTD's participation in the development of the first computer output microfiche catalog in the United States. Meyer moved to a similar position at the Indiana State University Library in 1976, where he reorganized the workflow and operation of technical services, started a new department for data input and maintenance, and began a staff development program.

In August 1979, Meyer became Associate Director of Libraries at Clemson University, a position he held for twelve years. During his period at Clemson, he continued his work in library automation by initiating the installation of NOTIS for acquisitions and cataloging and BRS Search software for database access to journal articles. He also helped develop and supervise a reorganization of the Library, chaired a task force on emergency preparedness, and directed personnel operations. While employed at the Clemson Library, he completed an M. A. in Economics from Clemson. Meyer became the Director of the Coates Library at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas in August 1991. While there he developed and implemented a strategic plan, which improved the Library's automation program, provided better access to collections, and improved bibliographic instruction. He also oversaw an expansion project that added 32,000 square feet to the Library building.

In 2000, Meyer was appointed Dean and Director of Libraries at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Among his many accomplishments during his eight years as Dean, Meyer oversaw the development of the Library West Commons, an information commons with 100 workstations, as well as the Library East Commons, which included a flexible study/teaching/performance space, coffee shop, and group study areas. He directed numerous innovations in the Library, including the establishment of the Digital Initiatives department (later the Scholarly Communication and Digital Services department) and the foundation of Georgia Tech's institutional repository, SMARTech. In addition, Meyer began a program to provide 24-hour access to the Library from Sunday through Thursday.

Throughout his professional life Meyer published widely on topics relating to library automation and technology, journal pricing, scholarly communication, and librarians as professionals, on issues such as tenure, salaries, and faculty status. He also published on the subject of the economy of acid rain control, the topic of his master's thesis in economics. His output includes well over forty scholarly articles and book chapters, and more than fifty presentations and reviews.

Source: Richard W. Meyer resume, at http://www.library.gatech.edu/research_help/librarians/documents/RMeyer.pdf. Accessed on May 12, 2009.