1:38 p.m., May 16, 2008--Thomas Melvin, associate librarian in the reference department of the UD library, will give a brown-bag lecture on “Inventing Linotype: The Early Patents of the Mergenthaler Linotype Company” at noon, Tuesday, May 20, in the Class of 1941 Lecture Room in Morris Library.

The invention of the linotype machine by Ottmar Mergenthaler in the late 19th century represented a quantum leap in the existing typesetting technology, analogous to the development of the Internet in the 20th century. The speed with which it allowed type to be set revolutionized the printing and publishing industries and created a model that would be followed for almost a century until the introduction of modern computerized typesetting.

Melvin received his bachelor's degree in English literature from UD in 1981 and a master's degree in information studies from Drexel University in 1987. Since 1990 he has served as the Morris Library liaison to the Patent and Trademark Depository Library Program, which is administered by the Patent and Trademark Office of the United States.

Melvin is a past president of both the Delaware Library Association and the Patent and Trademark Depository Library Association and has published numerous articles on the use of patents as historical documents. His talk is an expansion of a presentation he gave recently at the 31rst annual Patent and Trademark Depository Library Training Seminar in Alexandria, Va., entitled "Patent Documents of the Mergenthaler Linotype Company or How I Learned to Love (But Not Trust) Google Patents."

The free talk, which is open to the public, is sponsored by the UD Library Assembly of Professional Staff. For more information, call (302) 831-BOOK.