Robert Spears was born in 1843 in Glasgow, the son of Matthew Spears , a confectioner. He matriculated at Glasgow University in 1865 and took classes in Mathematics and English Language and Literature. In 1866 , he attended the Glasgow Athenaeum where he took a class in Mental Science and Logic. In 1867 , at the age of 23, he was appointed University Librarian at Glasgow. His work in the Library included preparing a new catalogue of the whole collection, arranging the fittings in the new Library at Gilmorehill, transferring the books from the old to the new buildings and rearranging them in classified order. Spears suffered from poor health and twice obtained leave of absence from the University to go on foreign trips for his health, firstly in 1872 to the Mediterranean, and secondly in 1878 to Egypt. He died on 15 December 1878 aged 35.
From the guide to the Papers of Robert Spears, University Librarian, Glasgow, 1862-2004, (Glasgow University Archive Services)
