Dear Members of the University Community,

As technology continues to race forward, our academic mission must adapt and respond to new challenges.

Perhaps no realm of academia is more impacted by technology than publishing and printing. Desktop publishing software overflows with creative capabilities. Electronic materials and databases emerge daily. We’ve seen growing volumes of digital books, journals and academic materials. Google and Microsoft, among others, are digitizing thousands of books, and the Library of Congress just announced the creation of the World Digital Library, an online collection of rare books, manuscripts and other materials. To keep pace with these and other developments, we need to copy materials immediately, print rapidly and publish instantaneously. To provide these cutting edge services for the University community, we are establishing a state-of-the-art academic publishing/copy center.

The center, which has been in the planning stages for nearly a year, will open next July under the direction of Art Petrosemolo, associate vice president for communications and marketing, and in partnership with University Librarian James Marcum. It will be housed in the Weiner Library on the Metropolitan Campus. (At the College at Florham, enhanced copying and printing services will be provided at the current location in the Mansion.)

The center, which will replace the print shop on Woodridge Avenue in Hackensack, will enable faculty, staff and students to print articles, books, journals, course materials, dissertations, as well as brochures, flyers and other documents. It will feature the latest black-and-white and color high-speed copiers and printers, as well as an online delivery system through which one can submit jobs electronically. A print production coordinator will serve as the point of contact for campus printing, along with Carol Black, director of publications. In addition, library staff will be designated to help users navigate copyright and intellectual property issues relating to publishing materials for academic use. 

As many of you know, I have long been interested in issues relating to print technology. With each new publishing development over the centuries, ideas and social transformations spread farther and faster and had greater impact than before. We are in the midst of another series of breakthroughs that are providing greater access to knowledge and information. The University of tomorrow must be equipped to handle this transformation. I am confident that our new academic publishing/copy center will place Fairleigh Dickinson University in the forefront of this fast-developing trend.

For more details on this exciting new development, please read the December edition of Inside FDU on the Web.

Thank you
Michael Adams