 Hobbs was a charter member of the Association for Asian Studies, which was set up in 1948 as the Far Eastern Association.He was the chairman of its Committee on American Library Resources on Southeast Asia for several years, and remained active in the activities of its successor body, the Committee on Research Materials on Southeast Asia.He was key player in organising the Conference on American Library Resources on Southern Asia held in 1957 and the Conference on Access to Southeast Asian Research Materials in 1970.