Donald L. Roberts

Donald L. Roberts (1938–2022) served as the longtime Head of the Music Library at Northwestern University. These pages serve as a tribute to his work here at the Libraries, as well as his contributions to the fields of music, ethnomusicology, and music librarianship.

As a librarian, Roberts developed the Fine Arts Library at New Mexico University, and at Northwestern, was instrumental in developing the Music Library into a destination for contemporary music scholarship. He acquired notable distinctive collections for Northwestern Libraries, including the John Cage Collection and the Fritz Reiner Collection.

Roberts also was a teacher, lecturing at the School of Music on ethnomusicology and music bibliography. He lectured at Dominican University as well, and held top-level positions in many professional associations, acting as a mentor in his field.

Roberts died in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on March 30, leaving behind a legacy of grand vision, innovation, and mentorship that continues to have an impact at Northwestern and beyond.

Thank you to the following colleagues for their support for this project: Gregory MacAyeal, Head of the Northwestern Music Library, D.J. Hoek, Associate University Librarian for Research & Engagement; Drew Scott and Cory Slowik, Northwestern Libraries Marketing and Communication; and colleagues who knew Don best. Thank you to Northwestern Emeriti News for providing access to the transcript of the 2021 interview. Thank you also to the Charles Deering McCormick Library of Special Collections and Archives for stewarding and providing access to photos and interviews and to the Repository  and Digital Curation team for digitizing available multimedia.