Robert Bingham Downs (May 25, 1903 – February 24, 1991) was an American writer and librarian. Downs was an advocate for intellectual freedom,[2] and spent the majority of his career working against literary censorship. Downs authored many books and publications regarding the topics of censorship, and on the topics of responsible and efficient leadership in the library context.[2]
Life
Robert Downs was born May 25, 1903, Lenoir, North Carolina, United States.[3] He was the seventh child of eight of Mr. John McLeod, an educator and local part-time politico, and Clarissa Catherine Hartley Downs. [2][3] Downs married Elizabeth Crooks in 1929 and they had two daughters. In 1982, Elizabeth Downs died[3] and Downs remarried Jane Wilson in 1983. Downs had three grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.[3] Robert B. Downs died at the age of 87 of pneumonia in 1991 in Urbana, Illinois.[4]
While Downs looked to heroes Abraham Lincoln and Thomas Jefferson for guidance when challenges were encumbered, it was the influences of his distant cousin, Mr. Louis Round Wilson, that formed Downs' librarian leadership foundation.[2] During his tenure as President of the American Library Association, Downs became a strong force against what he viewed as suppressive forces of literature.[2] 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.,[2][3][4] Downs was also known for his accession talents and developed a proclivity for rare books regarding the topic of American folklore. Aided by Mr. Gordon N. Ray, Downs' talents would eventually facilitate realization of the private papers of noted authors H. G. Wells and Carl Sandburg.[2] These collections are currently part of The Rare Book & Manuscript Library at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
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.[6]
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.
