Librarian, virtual reality pioneer, scholar, friend. Kathleen de la Peña McCook" notes "his impact on me as a professor and friend was deep. I know the many students he advised and taught had wonderful careers thanks to his wisdom and guidance."
Lawrence W.S. Auld (1933- 2023)
Lawrence W.S. Auld, age 89, of Raleigh, NC, passed away on March 2, 2023. He was born September 19, 1933, in Joplin, Missouri, to Lawrence W. and Dorothy P. Auld.
From 1989- 2003, Dr. Auld served as chair of the Department of Library Studies and Educational Technology at East Carolina University and was instrumental in the development of the Virtual Reality and Education Lab in the early 1990s.
Larry grew up mostly in Iowa. He graduated from what was then Iowa State Teachers College (now the University of Northern Iowa) with a degree in English.
He went on to earn a Master of Science degree from the Columbia University School of Library Service. While studying for his master's degree, he worked at the Brooklyn Public Library, where he met and married Rhoda Landsman, a fellow librarian. They had two children, Warren and Vivian.
Larry was the photographer for two books Rhoda wrote:
· Auld, Rhoda L. 1974. Tattin: The Contemporary Art of Knotting with a Shuttle. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold Co.
· Auld, Rhoda L., and Ellen J. Lehman. 1977. Molas: What They Are, How to Make Them, Ideas They Suggest for Creative Appliqué. 1st pbk. ed. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold Co.
After completing the master's degree, Larry Auld went on to work in libraries at the University of Texas (Austin), Library of Hawaii (Honolulu), Oakland University (Rochester, Michigan), and Oregon State University (Corvallis).
He earned the Ph.D. in library and information science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, in 1975. In 1976 he joined the faculty/staff of the Graduate School of Library and Information Science (now School of Information Sciences) as Assistant Director and held administrative positions for 10 years, including assistant dean. He then taught full-time for 3 years.
From 1989 -2003 Larry Auld was chair at East Carolina University, Department of Library Studies and Educational Technology located in the School of Education.
Rhoda Auld died in 2002. They were married for 45 1/2 years until her death in 2002.
In the mid-2000s after retirement, Larry moved to Tarboro with his new partner C. Rudolph Knight. The two shared many interests, including history and entertainment. They co-authored several books featuring African American life in Tarboro and Edgecombe County, NC. They shared a happy life together until Rudolph's death in 2013.
In 2016 Larry moved to the Springmoor Life Care Retirement Community in Raleigh, NC. He soon became the editor for the Springmoor Herald, a monthly newsletter for residents to keep abreast of community news. He held this position until 2022.
Larry Auld's interests were broad. In particular, he was interested in photography, woodworking, pottery, art, gardening, reading, and writing.
Larry donated two collections:
Lawrence W.S. Auld Collection of contemporary potters in the Carolina region and the midwest. Dr. Auld's selection of pots marks his journey as a maker and a collector spanning from Iowa to North Carolina. (donated to East Carolina University, School of Art and Design).
The Lawrence Auld Collection of Kaypro Computer Materials, 1973-1992 -computer manuals, newsletters, and magazines that document Kaypro computers and their use. The Kaypro computer was a competitor to the IBM PC. Auld acquired these materials during the 1980s when he was actively using the Kaypro computer system.( donated to NC State University).
Selected Publications
In retirement, Auld co-authored or edited several local history works on African American heritage in Edgecombe County/Tarboro, North Carolina, with C. Rudolph Knight.
· Knight, C. Rudolph. Historical Reflections on African American Tarboro. Edited by Lawrence W. S. Auld. Tarboro, NC: Perry-Weston Institute, 2014.
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· Knight, C. Rudolph, and Lawrence W. S. Auld. Thy Noble Sons, Thy Daughters Fair. Tarboro, NC: Perry-Weston Institute, 2014. (History of Pattillo High School.)
· Knight, C. Rudolph, and Lawrence W. S. Auld. African American Heritage Guide: Tarboro, Rocky Mount, Edgecombe County. Tarboro, NC: Perry-Weston Historical Institute, 2013.
· Knight, C. Rudolph, and Lawrence W. S. Auld. The Education of a Generation: The Rosenwald Schools and Other African American Schools in Edgecombe County: A Preliminary History. Tarboro, NC: Perry-Weston Institute, 2012.
Publications on librarianship and library automation
Auld, Lawrence W. S. "Recollections of Two Little-Known Professional Organizations and Their Impact on Technical Services." In Technical Services Management, 1965–1990: A Quarter Century of Change and a Look to the Future: Festschrift for Kathryn Luther Henderson, edited by Linda C. Smith and Ruth C. Carter, 315–328. New York: Haworth Press, 1996 (c1995/1996).
Auld, Lawrence W. S., and Veronica S. Pantelidis. "Exploring Virtual Reality for Classroom Use: The Virtual Reality and Education Lab at East Carolina University." TechTrends 39, no. 1 (January–February 1994): 29–31.
Auld, Lawrence W. S. Computer Spreadsheets for Library Applications. 2nd ed. Phoenix, AZ: Oryx Press, 1993.
Lawrence W. S. "Library Trends Past and Present: A Descriptive Study." Library Trends 36, no. 4 (Spring 1988): 853–868.
Auld, Lawrence W. S. "The King Report: New Directions in Library and Information Science Education." College & Research Libraries News 48, no. 4 (April 1987): 174–180.
Auld, Lawrence W. S. "Careers in Other Fields for Librarians: Successful Strategies for Finding the Job." Journal of the American Society for Information Science 38, no. 4 (July 1987
Auld, Lawrence W. S. Electronic Spreadsheets for Libraries. Phoenix, AZ: Oryx Press, 1986.
Allen, Walter C., and Lawrence W. S. Auld, eds. "Atypical Careers and Innovative Services in Library and Information Science." Special issue, Library Trends 32, no. 3 (Winter 1984).
Lawrence W. S. "GRE Analytical Ability as an Admissions Factor." Library Quarterly 54, no. 3 (July 1984): [281–?].
Auld, Lawrence W. S. "Authority Control: An Eighty-Year Review." Library Resources and Technical Services 26, no. 4 (October–December 1982): 319–330.
Auld, Lawrence W. S. "The Effect on Public Library Circulation of Advertising Via Cable Television." Public Library Quarterly 1, no. 4 (1979
Auld, Lawrence. "Automated Book Order and Circulation Control Procedures at the Oakland University Library." Journal of Library Automation 1, no. 2 (June 1968): 93–109.
Sources
Lawrence Auld, former faculty member, passes away | School of Information Sciences
Obituary | Lawrence W S Auld of Raleigh, North Carolina | Willoughby Funeral Homes
Personal note:
Dr. Lawrence Auld was a good friend. We lived next door to each other in Champaign, Illinois and were colleagues at the Graduate School of Library and Information Science.
I arrived with an infant daughter, and he was always kind and fun as she grew up. I tried to garden and looked over the fence at his successful garden with envy. I enjoyed time with his wife, Rhoda as well, who was an artist and writer.
I moved to teach at LSU and Larry came to visit me once. I drove him to New Orleans and got terribly lost in the maze of the French Quarter. Larry sat shotgun patiently and when I admitted I did not know where I was-- asked if I wanted us to go back the way we had come (a loopy trip) or direct? Though he had not been there he had a mind that saw patterns in another dimension. We did get back.
Larry always talked to me about his children, Vivian and Warren, and I was fortunate enough to work with Vivian who was the first person to tell me about the Internet. She saw it before it happened. Larry wrote a book on Computer Spreadsheets for Library Applications which was used by librarians all over the world.
I was fortunate to receive a long letter from Larry in 2019 about the books he wrote with his late partner Rudolph, about the Black history of Edgecombe County. Larry expressed in that letter much affection for Rudoph and his family. Larry had a life of great scope. His impact on me as a professor and friend was deep. I know the many students he advised and taught had wonderful careers thanks to his wisdom and guidance. -K. McCook
Submitted by Kathleen de la Peña McCook
In honor of the Sesquicentennial (150th Anniversary of ALA) in 2026, the Library History Round Table is hosting Librarians We Have Lost, Sesquicentennial Memories -1976-2026. This collage of tributes seeks to honor librarians who died between 1976-2026. The tributes are published to ALA Connect, a digital memorial on LHRT News & Notes, and ALA's institutional repository (ALAIR).
We invite tributes from anyone about any library worker who passed away between 1976-2026. To submit a tribute, please use the form at https://lhrt.news/librarians-we-have-lost-sesquicentennial-memories-1976-2026-2/
For questions or comments, please reach out to Dr. Kathleen McCook (kmccook@usf.edu) or Brett Spencer (dbs21@psu.edu).
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Brett Spencer
Reference Librarian
Thun Library, Penn State Berks
He/Him/His
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