I would like to add my voice to those mourning Mary Larsgaard's passing and
celebrating her generous and wise qualities as a map librarian.  As I wrote
to Jon just a month or two ago in the context of Mary Murphy and post-World
War II map cataloging, I went to a map librarianship workshop at Colorado
School of Mines in early 1979 when Mary L. was in charge of the map
collection there.  I had been in the Map Division at NYPL barely a year,
and this program that she hosted was my first formal training in map
librarianship as well as my first exposure to the fellowship of map
librarians.   My chief at the time let it be known that he didn't think I
would learn anything there that I couldn't learn at NYPL, but Alice Hudson,
as my more direct supervisor, encouraged me to go, knowing the inspiration
you can feel and camaraderie you can develop with colleagues from around
the country who are doing similar work.  That camaraderie was on display
among the workshop instructors, including Mary and David Cobb, as were
Mary's good nature, readiness to share, expertise, and thoroughness.  It's
great that so many of us were exposed to that and can carry Mary's spirit
with us and hopefully help to pass it on.

Nancy

++++++++++++++

Nancy A. Kandoian
Map Cataloger
The Lionel Pincus and Princess Firyal Map Division, Room 117
Stephen A. Schwarzman Building
The New York Public Library
5th Avenue and 42nd Street
New York, New York 10018
(212) 930 0586

On Mon, Jul 24, 2017 at 9:12 AM, John A Olson <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> It is indeed with sadness that I read of the passing of Mary Larsgaard. I
> first met Mary at the 1989 ALA Annual conference in Chicago. I was still
> working on my MILS at Michigan and wanted to be a map librarian so I
> attended all the MAGRIT meetings and programs and Mary welcomed me into the
> fold as did all the MAGIRT members. I found Mary to be a kind and friendly
> person, not only as a colleague but as a mentor and a friend too. She was
> always willing to listen and was never shy on giving her ideas and opinions
> on a map related topic. As the years trickled by I had many an opportunity
> to work with Mary on MAGIRT and map librarian activities, projects and
> appreciated her professionalism and candor. I learned so much from her,
> both in person and through reading her book on Map Librarianship. If I ever
> had a question or a problem on how to deal with a cataloging issue or any
> other map related issue I could always count on Mary to give me advice or
> some ideas on how to handle it. She is one of the giants in our field. Rest
> in peace Mary. I will truly miss you.
>
>
>
>
>
> *John A. Olson*
>
> Librarian for Government and Geo-Information
>
> Department of Research & Scholarship
>
>
>
> *t* 315.443.4818 <(315)%20443-4818>  *f* 315.443.9510 <(315)%20443-9510>
>
> [log in to unmask]
>
>
>
> 358 E.S. Bird Library, 222 Waverly Ave., Syracuse, NY 13244
>
> library.syr.edu
>
>
>
> Syracuse University <http://syr.edu>
>
>
>
>
>
> *From:* Maps-L: Map Librarians, etc. [mailto:[log in to unmask]] *On
> Behalf Of *Jon Jablonski
> *Sent:* Thursday, July 20, 2017 9:09 PM
> *To:* [log in to unmask]
> *Subject:* sad news: Mary Larsgaard
>
>
>
> Dear Friends:
>
>
> It is with a heavy heart that I write to inform you of the passing of our
> friend and former colleague Mary Larsgaard.  Mary took ill last winter, and
> passed comfortably on Tuesday morning.  Up until early June, Mary continued
> to enjoy lunch outings and discussions of her reading list with friends.
>
> Mary arrived at UCSB as map librarian and assistant department head of the
> Map & Imagery Laboratory in 1988, and for her final year served as
> department head before retiring in June of 2009.
>
> Mary literally wrote the book on map librarianship.  It is called *Map
> Librarianship*, and Mary penned all three editions: 1978, 1987, and
> 1998.  She was a giant in the cataloging field:  frequently writing with
> Penn State’s Paige Andrew, and served for decades on the Anglo-American
> Cataloguing Committee for Cartographic Materials.  With Paige, she was a
> founding editor of the *Journal of Map and Geography Libraries*.
>
> Mary earned her Master of Arts in Library Science from the University of
> Minnesota, and holds a second MA in Geography from the University of
> Oregon.  Prior to coming to UCSB, she was Assistant Director for Special
> Collections at the Colorado School of Mines.  She also has the distinction
> of serving as president or chair of all three major American map library
> organizations: ALA’s Map & Geography Roundtable, SLA’s Geography and Map
> Division, and the Western Association of Map Libraries.
>
> Mary is survived by her sister Caroline Thompson.  A memorial service is
> being planned for Friday, August 4 in Santa Barbara, which is Mary’s
> birthday.  Details to follow.
>
> -jon
>
> Jon Jablonski
> Map & Imagery Lab
> UCSB Library
>