Background
Robert Balay was born on October 6, 1930, in Wichita, Kansas, United States. He was the son of Loren and Gladys (Crites) Balay.
1600 Grand Ave, St Paul, MN 55105, United States
Macalester College where Rober Balay received his Bachelor of Arts degree.
University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, United States
The University of Minnesota where Rober Balay received his Master of Arts degree.
Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, United States
Columbia University where Rober Balay received his Master of Science degree in Library Science.
(The most authoritative and powerful reference tool, Guide...)
The most authoritative and powerful reference tool, Guide to Reference Books is essential for high-quality, up-to-date general and specialized reference collections. Familiar to most as the master source from which reference tools are identified and learned, GTRB maintains a standard of quality against which other reference guides are measured. With nearly 16,000 entries, 2,000 more than the tenth edition, this landmark edition organizes and describes the most important reference works for today's research and scholarship, including carefully selected items from every part of the world.
https://www.amazon.com/Guide-Reference-Books-Robert-Balay/dp/0838906699
1996
(It isn't often in this highly technological environment t...)
It isn't often in this highly technological environment that a new reference book sees the light of day and becomes an instant classic. Balay's Early Periodical Indexes is such a work. It is the most comprehensive guide available to the indexing of periodical literature from the 16th century until the end of the 19th century. The material itself is widely scattered and difficult to find, and until now there has been no systematic way to even identify it. This extraordinarily useful tool lists and describes titles in a wide range of disciplines.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0810838680/?tag=2022091-20
2000
(Prairies and Plains is an analysis of the reference sourc...)
Prairies and Plains is an analysis of the reference sources - encyclopedias, bibliographies, biographies, almanacs, dictionaries - that readers and researchers will need to prepare class papers, resolve queries, and develop strategies for investigating questions regarding the history and culture of the Prairies and Plains region.
https://www.amazon.com/Prairies-Plains-Reference-Literature-Region/dp/0981773621/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&qid=1601900797&refinements=p_27%3ARobert+Balay&s=books&sr=1-2&text=Robert+Balay
2009
Robert Balay was born on October 6, 1930, in Wichita, Kansas, United States. He was the son of Loren and Gladys (Crites) Balay.
Robert Balay began his studies at Macalester College where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1952. Then he went to the University of Minnesota and obtained a Master of Arts degree in 1954. In 1959 he got a Master of Science degree in Library Science from Columbia University.
Robert Balay, after receiving his master's degree, from 1954 till 1956 did his military service in the United States Army. After that, he joined Beech Aircraft Corporation (later part of Hawker Beechcraft) as a technical writer where he worked till 1958. The next year, he went to the Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation (now defunct) as an assistant librarian, a position he held till 1962. From 1962 till 1964 he was a senior librarian at General Precision. He also worked at universities serving at Wayne State University as an assistant science librarian in 1964-1968 and as an adjunct instructor in library science in 1966-1967 and at Yale University as head of the library reference department in 1968-1986.
Next, he became a reference editor for Choice Magazine, a publication of the American Library Association. He took on book projects, most notably, editing the Guide to Reference Books in 1996. His lifelong interest in Great Plains literature and culture culminated in editing Prairies and Plains. He retired from Choice in 2005. Late in life, he began writing poetry. He read his work at poetry groups and events and had several poems published. He was also an editor of Connecticut Post from 2014 to 2016.
Balay's other known publication is Early Periodical Indexes: Bibliographies and Indexes of Literature Published in Periodicals before 1900. This bibliography lists 400 titles. Balay included indexes that are restricted to periodicals (such as Poole's), and those published later (such as Wellesley), as well as serial and topical bibliographies citing publications in all formats, and he explains the relationships among them.
(Prairies and Plains is an analysis of the reference sourc...)
2009(The most authoritative and powerful reference tool, Guide...)
1996(It isn't often in this highly technological environment t...)
2000Quotations: "I have tried my hand at what I regard as the highest profession, the writing of fiction, but without any success whatsoever. Writing fiction is of a much higher order of difficulty than any other writing, with the possible exception of poetry, and its principles elude me."
Robert Balay was a member of the Mountain Plains Library Association and Center for Great Plains Studies.
Quotes from others about the person
"He was a man of honor. And his humor could lighten the day. That spark of life in his eye that seemed to reflect both humor and deep knowledge." - Jenny Normand Groome
"Bob was a great friend and colleague at Choice: helpful, very funny, and brilliant." - David Durgin
"He was a caring husband, proud of his children, and a gentleman. He had a sense of humor and caring nature, a great laugh and a mischievous twinkle in his eyes." - Nancy Sbona
Robert Balay married Harriette Anderson on December 23, 1961. The marriage produced three children: Christopher, Anne, and Jean. In 2012 his wife died and he married Cheryl Hale.