Robert M. Hayes

Robert Mayo Hayes (December 18, 1926 – February 12, 2022) was an American professor and dean of the Graduate School of Library and Information Science (1974–1989), now the Graduate School of Education and Information Studies, at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). An expert on information systems, Hayes began his academic career in mathematics and went on to become a pioneer in the field of information science. During his childhood his family moved frequently because of his stepfather's acting career; as a result he attended over sixteen different high schools before receiving his diploma. By that time the United States had entered the Second World War. He was drafted into the Navy, and gained acceptance into the Navy's V-12 program, in the context of which he took courses at the University of Colorado Boulder. While completing his Ph.D., he worked in information science at the National Bureau of Standards.

In 1958, Hayes was hired as a vice president of Electrada Corporation,

He and Joseph Becker co-authored Information Storage and Retrieval (1963), the most comprehensive text in the field at the time. He received the Award of Merit in 1993.

He was president of the Information Science and Automation Division of the American Library Association (later known as the Library and Information Technology Association, or LITA), in 1969–1970.

He was inducted into the California Librarian Hall of Fame in 2022.

Publications Hayes, Robert M. Models for Library Management, Decision-Making, and Planning. San Diego: Academic Press, 2001 Hayes, Robert M. Strategic Management for Academic Libraries. Westport, CO: Greenwood Press, 1993 Hayes, Robert M. Libraries and the Information Economy of California. Los Angeles: UCLA, 1985 Hayes, Robert M. and Becker, Joseph. Handbook of Data Processing for Libraries. New York: Becker and Hayes, 1970 (2nd edition, Wiley, 1974). Winner of Best Information Science Book Award, from ASIS&T, 1971 Becker, Joseph and Hayes, Robert M. Information Storage and Retrieval: Tools, Elements, Theories. New York: John Wiley, 1963