Robert G. Vosper

Robert Gordon Vosper (June 21, 1913 – May 14, 1994) Vosper received his Bachelor of Arts and master's degrees in the field of Classics from the University of Oregon in 1937 and 1939, respectively. He then went on to pursue a degree in librarianship at the University of California at Berkeley in 1940. In 1973, Vosper retired from his work at the library but continued to teach as a full-time professor at UCLA's school of library science until 1983, followed by several years as a recall professor. Vosper felt that it was important to step away from the purely mechanical aspects of acquisitions in favor of using individuals interested in the subject matter of the books in question.

In 1964, Vosper wrote for the professional journal Library Trends on the status and developments of European university libraries. He examined aspects of the American library system that he felt were lacking, such as deficiencies in the history of American libraries. Despite some of the international efforts being made at the time to improve international ties, Vosper felt that the profession was doing its patrons a disservice by not providing users with multilingual sources. He also felt that American users would benefit from understanding how libraries in Europe functioned, especially comparing the liberal access American users were accustomed to with the more controlled access available in several European nations.

In 1999, Vosper was recognized by American Libraries as one of the top 100 Librarians of the 20th Century for his work as a librarian at UCLA from 1961 to 1973. It was during his tenure at UCLA that Vosper further developed his reputation for standing firm on his beliefs on the true function of a library that he began during his employment at Kansas University. On May 6, 1970, Vosper was under pressure by UCLA's administration to close the library due to antiwar protests taking place on the campus. On May 14, 1994, at the age of 80, Robert G. Vosper died at his home in Los Angeles, California.