First Annual Metzdorf Lecture, March 3, 1979
"Living with Forgers"
Stuart B. Schimmel, noted book collector from New York City.
Mr. Schimmel was a member of the Rochester Friends, a director of the Grolier Club, a director and former president of the Manuscript Society, and a past president of the Bibliographical Society of America. He owned an extensive collection of manuscript and book forgeries, in addition to his distinguished book and art collections.

Second Annual Metzdorf Lecture, April 28, 1980
Robert H. Taylor, noted book collector and close friend of the late Dr. Metzdorf, presented at the annual meeting of the Friends of the University of Rochester Libraries. Taylor had long been a generous benefactor of the Princeton University Library, and was chairman of the Council of the Princeton Library Friends. Over a period of more than 40 years, he built a distinguished collection of books, manuscripts, and drawings in English and American literature, which spanned five centuries.

Third Annual Metzdorf Lecture, March 7, 1981
"Sequence and the Photographically Illustrated Book: Contemporary Issues"
Nathan Lyons, former Director of the Visual Studies Workshop and Professor, SUNY-Buffalo

Fourth Annual Metzdorf Lecture, May, 1982
Mrs. Mina R. Mryan, librarian of the Scheide Rare Book Library at Princeton University.
"Mrs. Bryan returned her honorarium for the purpose of acquiring a book in memory of Dr. Metzdorf. For this purpose, the library selected a fine copy of John Dryden's The Assignation or, Love in a Nunnery. As it is Acted At the Theatre-Royal. The library has long sought this particular title to add to its extensive Dryden collection in the Department of Rare Books, Manuscripts and Archives. Dr. Metzdorf supported the library in its collecting interest in Dryden, and library staff feel he would have been greatly pleased with this selection and Mrs. Bryan's tribute." (Bibliotalk, 1983)

Fifth Annual Metzdorf Lecture, November 3, 1983
David R. Godine, distinguished publisher and founder of the David R. Godine Publishing Company
David R. Godine discussed American book design and production. He was a fellow of the Massachusetts Historical Society, the American Antiquarian Society, and the Pierpont Morgan Library, and was a member of the Society of Printers. Godline, author of Renaissance Books of Science, was a graduate of Dartmouth College and holds a master's degree in education from Harvard University.

Sixth Annual Metzdorf Lecture, November 12, 1984
"Taste, Technique, and Utility in Book Collecting"
Donald C. Gallup, Retired Curator of the Yale Collection of American Literature (Curator 1947-1980)

Seventh Annual Metzdorf Lecture, October 10, 1985
"Why Read in an Electronic Age?" Dr. Richard Hoggart, English writer, teacher, and former R. T. French Company Exchange Professor at the University of Rochester
Dr. Hoggart, who was at Rochester during 1957-1957, was a faculty member at the University of Hull, England. He came to the University of Rochester under the provisions of an exchange professorship program between the University of Rochester and Hull, supported by the R. T. French Company and Reckitt & Colman, Ltd., its English associate.

Eighth Annual Metzdorf Lecture, November 5, 1986
"D. H. Lawrence: Poet and Prophet"
Louis L. Martz was the Sterling Professor of English, Emeritus, Yale University; Distinguished Thomas More Scholar; and Retired Director of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale University.

Ninth Annual Metzdorf Lecture (and Robbins Library Opening), September 16, 1987
"Book Provision and Libraries in the Medieval University of Oxford"
Malcolm Beckwith Parkes was a Fellow of Keble College, Oxford, and Lecturer in Paleography in the University of Oxford. He received his formal training at Strasbourg University and Hertford College, Oxford. He held B. Litt., M.A., and D. Litt. degrees. Parkes was elected Fellow of the Society of Antiquarians (1971) and of the Royal Historical Society (1976) and was elected to the Comité International de Paléographie latine. He was a special lecturer at Durham, Konstanz, London, Manchester, Queens University, Belfast, Berkeley, and UCLA. The entire lecture is published in the Library Bulletin, v. XXX. 1987-1988, p. 28-43.

Tenth Annual Metzdorf Lecture, 1988. No program available.

Eleventh Annual Metzdorf Lecture, April 6, 1989
"The Human Genome in the Library?"
Dr. Donald A.B. Lindberg, Director, National Library of Medicine, Bethesda, Maryland.
Dr. Lindberg, sworn in as Director of the National Library of Medicine (NLM) on October 11, 1984, was a leading expert in "Medical Informatics." He had a medical degree from the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University, and received his specialty training in anatomic and clinical pathology. Dr. Lindberg went to the NLM from the University of Missouri where he was Professor of Pathology and Director of the Information Science Group. He was a pioneer in the application of computer technology to medicine, founding, in 1963, one of the nation's first medical computer centers at the University of Missouri. As Director of the NLM, Dr. Lindberg devoted his energies to improving and extending the NLM's extensive computerized bibliographic system, expanding the Library's work in Medical Informatics, including the introduction of "expert systems" into the NLM research program, beginning a major and long-term project to develop a Unified Medical Language System, and carrying out an extensive long-rang planning exercise for the Library (published in 7 volumes). The U.S. Congress significantly enlarged the Library's responsibilities by creating within it the National Center for Biotechnology Information.

Twelfth Annual Metzdorf Lecture, June 6, 1990
"Creativity and the Long Distance Writer"
Paula R. Backscheider, University of Rochester Professor of English

Thirteenth Annual Metzdorf Lecture, June 5, 1991
"'Sadness and Madness: Life and Death' Including a Review of William Styron's 'Darkness Visible'"
John Romano, M.D., Distinguished University Professor of Psychiatry, Emeritus, University of Rochester

Fourteenth Annual Metzdorf Lecture, May 14, 1992
"A New Novel by D.H. Lawrence"
Louis Martz, Sterling Professor of English, Emeritus, at Yale University