I too am very saddened by this news.  I alas only knew Mary by reputation and through the powerful medium of email.  Many may not know it, but Mary actually spent some of her early career here in Ellensburg.  She built a wonderful map collection here.  I was delighted reading in the annual reports when I arrived to learn of the addition of a second professional librarian in August 1969 named Mary Larsgaard, member of the American Library Association, Special Library Association, Western Association of Map Libraries, Phi Beta Kappa, and Beta Phi Mu. Miss Larsgaard served as Assistant Documents Librarian and Maps Librarian.  In 1969, CWU had accumulated 861 maps in the collection primarily through the federal depository library program and some key purchases. When Mary left, the collection had grown to 3,281 maps.  She also regularly taught courses.


Mary took two years leave to earn a second masters degree in Geography and to work on her now famous book, Maps Librarianship, according to this same Annual Report before returning to Central Washington State College (as we were called back then).  She left here a few months later for a position as Maps Librarian at  the Colorado School of Mines in September 1978 and the rest is history, so to speak.


Today, we have approximately 102,000 maps.  I.  It is her book, along with the help of others who help go through the unprocessed collection each week.  My respect for her work is profound and what she has done for Central is amazing.


Thank you Mary Larsgaard.

Aimée


Aimée  C. Quinn
Assistant Professor & Head Government  Publications  Librarian
James E. Brooks Library
Central Washington University
400 E. University Way
Ellensburg, WA 98926
[log in to unmask]
509-963-1592

________________________________
From: Maps-L: Map Librarians, etc. <[log in to unmask]> on behalf of Sue Haffner <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Saturday, July 22, 2017 2:00 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: sad news: Mary Larsgaard

Mary was already a legend by the time I became active in WAML. Her name came up in conversations all the time.
I was so pleased to meet her at the UCSB Library when we held a WAML meeting there. She seemed so dynamic as
well as funny. She won't be forgotten.

Sue Haffner
CSU Fresno (retired)

On Sat, Jul 22, 2017 at 8:10 AM, Coombs, Jim <[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>> wrote:
I think I first met Mary at a WAML meeting in Seattle in 1979 which was my first map librarians conference as a grad student. As you all have said, she was very open and encouraging. She was the editor of base line when I submitted my first cartoon in 1983. Great Moments in Map Librarianship might not have happened if she had not accepted and added it to base line. So sorry to see her go, but glad she’s at peace.

Jim

Jim Coombs
Maps & GIS Librarian
Missouri State University
Springfield, MO 65897
(417) 836-4534<tel:(417)%20836-4534>
[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>

From: "Jon Jablonski" <[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>>
To: "[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>" <[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>>
Sent: Thursday, July 20, 2017 9:08:38 PM

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