Robert May Hayes ’47, M.A. ’49, Ph.D. ’52

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There is no doubt today that Dean Robert Hayes of UCLA’s Graduate School of Library and Information Science was a pioneer in developing the field of information science as it applies to recorded knowledge and documentation. He was honored by the American Library Association with its most prestigious honor, the Beta Phi Mu Award – which is a remarkable achievement for someone who has never held a degree in library science.

Receiving his Ph.D. in mathematics, he worked with one of the first computers ever established on a university campus to develop applications of computers to information management and systems design. He was clearly one of the very first to perceive that the emerging field of information science needed to be brought into a university setting in order to develop basic principles and train practioners. He saw that if computers were effectively to be applied to large-file problems, then technologists needed to know what librarians had learned over the years about dealing with large files of printed information – and, conversely, that librarians needed to learn about the potential usefulness of computerizing library files. The Handbook on Data Processing for Libraries which he co-authored is still considered the bible for the application of computers to library operations.

Joining the faculty of UCLA’s library school, he succeeded to the deanship in 1974. Since then, he has moved the school into the very front ranks of professional education internationally. He recruited a strong faculty and built a superior program at UCLA. Dean Hayes is held in international esteem as a teacher, scholar, professional leader, and academic statesman.