Robert Bingham Downs (May 25, 1903 – February 24, 1991) was an American writer and

librarian A librarian is a person who professionally works managing information. Librarians' common activities include providing access to information, conducting research, creating and managing information systems, creating, leading, and evaluating educat ...

. Downs was an advocate for

intellectual freedom Intellectual freedom encompasses the freedom to hold, receive and disseminate ideas without restriction. Viewed as an integral component of a democratic society, intellectual freedom protects an individual's right to access, explore, consider, and ...

,Donald G. Davis, D. G. D. J. (2003). Dictionary of American Library Biography: Second Supplement, Libraries Unlimited. and spent the majority of his career working against literary censorship. Downs authored many books and publications regarding the topics of

censorship Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governmen ...

, and on the topics of responsible and efficient leadership in the library context.

Life

Robert Downs was born May 25, 1903,

Lenoir, North Carolina Lenoir ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Caldwell County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 18,263 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Lenoir is located in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. To the northe ...

, United States.Contemporary Authors Online, Gale, 2008. Reproduced i
Biography Resource Center.
Farmington Hills, Mich.: Gale, 2008. He was the seventh child of eight of Mr. John McLeod, an

educator A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

and local part-time

politico ''Politico'' (stylized in all caps), known originally as ''The Politico'', is an American political digital newspaper company founded by American banker and media executive Robert Allbritton in 2007. It covers politics and policy in the Unit ...

, and Clarissa Catherine Hartley Downs. Downs married Elizabeth Crooks in 1929 and they had two daughters. In 1982, Elizabeth Downs died and Downs remarried Jane Wilson in 1983. Downs had three grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. Robert B. Downs died at the age of 87 of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

in 1991 in

Urbana, Illinois Urbana ( ) is a city in Champaign County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. As of the 2020 census, Urbana had a population of 38,336. It is a principal city of the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, which had 236,000 residents i ...

.Unknown (1991). Robert B. Downs, 87, Librarian and Author. ''The New York Times''.

Educational background

Downs attended a one-room schoolhouse called Shady Grove until his high school years when his family relocated to

Asheville, North Carolina Asheville ( ) is a city in Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. Located at the confluence of the French Broad River, French Broad and Swannanoa River, Swannanoa rivers, it is the county seat of Buncombe County. It is the most populou ...

. After high school Downs attended the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public university, public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolli ...

(A.B. 1926), and the

Columbia University School of Library Service The Columbia University School of Library Service was a school dedicated to education for librarianship that was part of Columbia University in New York City. It was founded by Melvil Dewey and began operation in 1887 as the Columbia College Schoo ...

(B.S. 1927, M.S. 1929). During his Masters coursework, Downs was employed at the New York Library and later as a librarian for two years (1929 to 1931) at

Colby College Colby College is a private liberal arts college in Waterville, Maine, United States. Founded in 1813 as the Maine Literary and Theological Institution, it was renamed Waterville College in 1821. The donations of Christian philanthropist Gardner ...

in Maine.

Employment

The following "Employment" section uses data procured from the source: Contemporary Authors Online, Gale, 2008. * 1922–1926: Assistant Librarian, University of North Carolina * 1927–1929: Librarian, Colby College * 1929–1931: Assistant Librarian, New York Public Library * 1931–1932: Assistant Librarian, University of North Carolina * 1932–1934: Librarian and associate professor of Library Science, University of North Carolina * 1934–1938: Librarian and professor, University of North Carolina * 1938–1943: Director of Library and Library Sch. – Director of Libraries,

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

* 1943–1958: Professor of Library Science, University of Illinois * 1958–1971: Dean Library Administration, University of Illinois * 1971: Dean Emeritus, University of Illinois * 1973: Visiting professor at

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

* 1975: University of North Carolina * In addition, Downs served as an adviser to many overseas libraries.

Professional/academic memberships

The following "Professional/academic" section uses data procured from the source: Contemporary Authors Online, Gale, 2008. * 1951–1952: Vice President,

American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world. History 19th century ...

* 1952–1953: President, American Library Association * 1955–1956: President,

Illinois Library Association The Illinois Library Association (ILA) is the eighth oldest library association in the world and the third largest state library association in the United States. It is headquartered in Chicago. History The first meeting of what was to become th ...

In addition, Downs was a member of: *

Southeastern Library Association The Southeastern Library Association (SELA) is an organization that collaborates with different library associations within the Southeastern United States, including Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Caro ...

American Association of University Professors The American Association of University Professors (AAUP) is an organization of professors and other academics in the United States that was founded in 1915 in New York City and is currently headquartered in Washington, D.C. AAUP membership inc ...

* Authors League America *

Caxton Club The Caxton Club is a private social club and bibliophilic society founded in Chicago in 1895 to promote the book arts and the history of the book. To further its goals, the club hosts monthly events, collaborates with institutions like the New ...

Society of Midland Authors The Society of Midland Authors is an association of published authors from twelve American states: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. According to its constit ...

* Committee on Books Abroad *

United States Information Agency The United States Information Agency (USIA) was a United States government agency devoted to propaganda which operated from 1953 to 1999. Previously existing United States Information Service (USIS) posts operating out of U.S. embassies wor ...

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States. It was founded in 1776 at the College of William & Mary in Virginia. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences, ...

Beta Phi Mu Beta Phi Mu (also or βφμ) is an American honor society for library & information science and information technology. Founded by a group of librarians and library educators, the society's express purpose is to recognize and encourage "superior ...

Phi Kappa Phi The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi (or simply Phi Kappa Phi or ) is an honor society established in 1897 to recognize and encourage superior scholarship without restriction as to the area of study, and to promote the "unity and democracy of educa ...

Endeavors

While Downs looked to heroes

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...

and

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (, 1743July 4, 1826) was an American Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was the primary author of the United States Declaration of Indepe ...

for guidance when challenges were encumbered, it was the influences of his distant cousin, Mr.

Louis Round Wilson Louis Round Wilson (December 27, 1876 – December 10, 1979) was an important figure to the field of library science, and is listed in "100 of the most important leaders we had in the 20th century," an article in the December 1999 issue of ''Ameri ...

, that formed Downs' librarian leadership foundation. During his tenure as President of the American Library Association, Downs became a strong force against what he viewed as suppressive forces of literature. Downs produced many publications during his life and is best known for his book titled ''Books That Changed the World''. This publication enjoyed a great deal of success and was subsequently translated into many languages., Downs was also known for his accession talents and developed a proclivity for rare books regarding the topic of

American folklore American folklore encompasses the folklore that has evolved in the present-day United States mostly since the European colonization of the Americas. It also contains folklore that dates back to the Pre-Columbian era, Pre-Columbian era. Folklor ...

. Aided by Mr. Gordon N. Ray, Downs' talents would eventually facilitate realization of the private papers of noted authors

H. G. Wells Herbert George Wells (21 September 1866 – 13 August 1946) was an English writer, prolific in many genres. He wrote more than fifty novels and dozens of short stories. His non-fiction output included works of social commentary, politics, hist ...

and

Carl Sandburg Carl August Sandburg (January 6, 1878 – July 22, 1967) was an American poet, biographer, journalist, and editor. He won three Pulitzer Prizes: two for his poetry and one for his biography of Abraham Lincoln. During his lifetime, Sandburg w ...

. These collections are currently part of The Rare Book & Manuscript Library at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Honors

* Joseph W. Lippincott Award for distinguished service to the profession of librarianship. 1964. *Robert B. Downs Intellectual Freedom Award established in 1969 to celebrate Downs' 25th year as director of the School of Information Sciences at the University of Illinois. * Melvil Dewey Medal. 1974 *

American Library Association Honorary Membership Honorary Membership conferred by the American Library Association is the Association's highest award. "Honorary membership may be conferred on a living citizen of any country whose contribution to librarianship or a closely related field is so outs ...

. 1976.American Library Association
Honorary Membership

Works

The following "Works" section is a direct reflection of data from the source: Contemporary Authors Online, Gale, 2008. * (With Louis R. Wilson) ''Report of a Survey of the Libraries of

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

'', Cornell University Press, 1948. * ''Books That Changed the World'', New American Library, 1956, 2nd edition, American Library Association, 1978. * (With others) ''Family Saga and Other Phases of American Folklore'', University of Illinois Press, 1958. * ''Molders of the Modern Mind: 111 Books That Shaped Western Civilization'', Barnes & Noble, 1961. * Strengthening and Improving Library Resources for Southern Higher Education, Southern Regional Education Board, 1962. * The Kabul University Library, University of Wyoming Education Program, 1963. * (Editor) ''The Bear Went over the Mountain'', Macmillan, 1964. * ''Famous Books, Ancient and Medieval'', Barnes & Noble, 1964. * Resources of North Carolina Libraries, Governor's Commission on Library Resources, 1965. * ''How to Do Library Research'', University of Illinois Press, 1966, 2nd edition, 1975. * Resources of Missouri Libraries, Missouri State Library, 1966. * (With Frances B. Jenkins) Bibliography: Current State and Future Trends, University of Illinois Press, 1967. * Resources of Canadian Academic and Research Libraries, Association of Universities of Canada, 1967. * University Library Statistics, Association of Research Libraries, 1968. * ''Books That Changed America'', Macmillan, 1970. * Famous American Books, McGraw, 1971. * Books and History, University of Illinois Library School, 1974. * ''Horace Mann'', Twayne, 1974. * ''Heinrich Pestalozzi'', Twayne, 1975. * Famous Books, Littlefield, 1975. * ''Books That Changed the South'', University of North Carolina Press, 1977. * Henry Barnard, Twayne, 1977. * Friedrich Froebel, Twayne, 1978. * Australian and New Zealand Library Resources, Mansell, 1979. * British and Irish Resources, Mansell, 1981. * Landmarks in Science, Libraries Unlimited, 1982. * (With others) Memorable Americans, Libraries Unlimited, 1983. * Perspectives on the Past, an Autobiography, Scarecrow, 1984. * (With John T. Flanagan and Harold W. Scott) More Memorable Americans, Libraries Unlimited, 1985. * Books in My Life, Library of Congress (Washington, DC), 1985. * (Compiler) Images of America: Travelers from Abroad in the New World, University of Illinois Press, 1987. * Scientific Enigmas, Libraries Unlimited, 1987. * A Dictionary of Eminent Librarians, High Plains Publishing (Worland, WY), 1990. * (With Jane B. Downs) Journalists of the United States: Biographical Sketches of Print and Broadcast News Shapers from the Late seventeenth Century to the Present, McFarland (Jefferson, NC), 1991.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Downs, Robert B. 1903 births 1991 deaths Presidents of the American Library Association University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill alumni Columbia University School of Library Service alumni Colby College faculty 20th-century American writers 20th-century American male writers People from Lenoir, North Carolina University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign faculty American Library Association people