Robert S. Martin

Robert Sidney Martin (born 1949) is an American librarian, archivist, administrator, and educator. He is Professor Emeritus, School of Library and Information Studies, Texas Woman’s University, where he was the Lillian M. Bradshaw Endowed Chair until his retirement in 2008.

From 2001 to 2005, Martin was the director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS),^[1] and he served concurrently as the acting chair of the National Endowment for the Arts from Oct. 2001 to Jan. 2002.^[2] He has served on numerous boards and commissions, including the National Council for the Humanities,^[3] the U.S. National Commission for UNESCO,^[4] and the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities.

On November 17, 2008, President George W. Bush awarded Martin the Presidential Citizens Medal “for his leadership in strengthening libraries and museums across the country.”^[5] The medal is the second-highest civilian award in the United States, second only to the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Martin is a Fellow of the Society of American Archivists^[6] and a Distinguished Alumnus of Rice University^[7] and the UNC School of Information and Library Science (SILS).^[8]

America's libraries are the fruits of a great democracy. They exist because we believe that memory and truth are important. They exist because we believe that information and knowledge are not the exclusive domain of a certain type or class of person, but rather the province of all who seek to learn. A democratic society holds these institutions in high regard.^[9]

— Dr. Robert S. Martin at a House Subcommittee hearing on education.