robert freeman asleson (october 11, 1935 – july 22, 2010) was an american publisher who was a major contributor to the publishing, library and information industries. he led a number of key information companies as they evolved from print, to microfilm, to mainframe, cd-rom and then web based databases. he brought professional management to entrepreneurial library companies, without which they might not have succeeded. some of these organizations are now among the titans of the library industry.