F. X. Roberts papers

Francis Xavier Roberts (F. X. Roberts) was born on September 15, 1932, in Quincy, Massachusetts. He earned a master's degree in education from Boston State College, a master's degree in librarianship from Simmons College in Boston, and a Ph.D. in Higher Education and Academic Librarianship from the State University of New York at Buffalo.

Roberts taught librarianship and American literature in England, East Africa, Australia, and the United States. He also worked as a high school English teacher in Massachusetts and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, under the Government of Tanzania. In 1962, while in Tanzania, he met Dorothy Web, and together they worked in education and administration for both the British government and, after independence, for the Tanzanian government. They married on June 24, 1963.

In addition to his teaching career, Roberts held various positions, including an education officer, a library assistant at Emerson College in Boston, and a librarian at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Boston. He was a reference librarian and professor of library science at the University of Northern Colorado from 1987 to 1997 and retired as professor emeritus in 1997. His poetry has been published in various small journals and magazines.

During his time as both a teacher and a librarian in England, Africa, Australia, and across the United States, Roberts collected a diverse array of bookmarks that highlight both historical and contemporary cultural events and locations, enhancing the educational value of his collection.