The FINANCIAL -- Georgia State University President Mark Becker will have a public conversation about the future of academic libraries Feb. 22 with Paul Courant, university librarian and dean of libraries at the University of Michigan.

According to Georgia State University, the discussion between Becker and Courant will be held at 2 p.m. in the Speaker’s Auditorium of the GSU Student Center. The event is free and open to the public. Courant, an economics and public policy expert, has authored more than a half a dozen books and more than 70 papers. His most recent research focuses on the economics of universities, university libraries and archives, and the effects of new information technologies.

While serving as provost of the University of Michigan from 2002-‘05, Courant played a crucial role in negotiating a contract with Google to allow the University of Michigan to become the first in the world to have its library collection digitized for what is now known as Google Books.

Beyond his role at the University of Michigan’s library, Courant is the Harold T. Shapiro Collegiate Professor of Public Policy, Arthur F. Thurnau Professor of Economics, professor of information, and faculty associate in the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan. He has also served as the chief academic officer and the chief budget officer of the University of Michigan, associate provost for academic and budgetary affairs, chair of the Department of Economics, and director of the Institute of Public Policy Studies, which is now the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy.

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