A librarian, Warner was the Archivist of the United States from 1980 to 1985, the sixth person to hold the position. The National Archive first decides what documents need to be preserved for historical and practical use, and then stores it in such a way that items can be used.
When he was appointed, the National Archivist was a political position — there was no requirement that the appointee have any education or experience in the field. Warner worked for five years to change the National Archive to a federal agency, which would get it out from under the thumb of political favoritism. “He was an informal but passionate advocate for the independence of the archives,” said the current National Archivist, Allen Weinstein.
As soon as he succeeded, Warner retired and moved back to the University of Michigan, where he became dean of the School of Library Science. In 2005, the Robert M. Warner Research Center at the National Archives’ headquarters was named for him. Dr. Warner died April 24 of a heart attack while battling cancer. He was 79.