Robert H. Blackburn


Robert Harold Blackburn was a Canadian who served as Chief Librarian for the University of Toronto from 1954 to 1982.

Early life and education

Blackburn was born in Vegreville, Alberta. He attended the University of Alberta, graduating in 1941 with an M.A. He earned a Bachelor of Library Science degree in 1942 from the University of Toronto.

Career

Blackburn served in the Royal Canadian Air Force, then worked at the Calgary Public Library before being hired as an associate librarian at the University of Toronto in 1947. Continuing his education, he earned a M.S. degree from Columbia University in 1948.
Blackburn was promoted to chief librarian for the University of Toronto, succeeding Dr. Wallace, in 1954. At the time, the library had a budget of $170,000.
Blackburn served as the first president of CACUL, the former Canadian Association of College & University Libraries, in 1963 and 1964. The Robert H. Blackburn Distinguished Paper Award, presented annually by the Canadian Library Association, was named in his honour. Blackburn's papers are preserved in the University of Toronto Archives.
Blackburn also served for a number of years as the Chair of the Streetsville Library Board.
Between 1963 and 1967, Blackburn administered the Ontario New Libraries Project under the Ontario Ministry of Education, creating the initial 35,000 book collections for each of three new Ontario universities and for Scarborough and Erindale colleges.
Blackburn served as a consulting editor on Canadian topics for Collier's Encyclopedia, published in 1967, and contributed to the Encyclopædia Britannica's 1961 Canadian Supplement. In 1949, when Newfoundland became a province of Canada, he edited the Newfoundland supplement to The Encyclopedia of Canada.
Blackburn's 1968 study of the future financial needs of libraries for the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada was used to plan the development of academic libraries throughout Canada.
Blackburn worked on the international advisory board of the Journal of Library History. He was a contributing writer in The Canadian Historical Review.
Blackburn retired from his job as chief librarian in 1981. By that time he was overseeing a budget of about $15 million.

Publications

Blackburn published several books, including:
Other publications include: