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Posted on behalf of Floyd M. Zula

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The Passing of John Christian Larsen, one of the founding members of the Society

 

Although he was one of the ten founding members of ARLIS/NA, John Larsen’s career in librarianship kept him mostly focused in the direction of the social sciences and history.  He earned his doctorate in Library Science at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor in 1970 and taught first at Columbia University and then at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, IL.  My first introduction to him occurred when I was enrolled in his Bibliography of the Social Sciences course as a library science graduate student in 1967; he was then completing his dissertation, I believe

 

While he did publish a monograph on general Museum Librarianship  (Hamden, CT, Library Professional Publications, 1985), the non-art orientation of most of his published work is emphasized by his other book  Researcher’s Guide to Archives and Regional History Sources (North Haven, CT, Shoe String Press, 1988).  He also contributed many reference reviews to a variety of journals, many published under the ALA umbrella.  John served as the chair of the ARTS Section of ACRL of ALA in 1981 (that year I functioned as an unofficial substitute secretary of the ARTS Section).

 

From the Baltimore Sun’s obituary notice (February 2, 2012) comes the following:

 

     When not teaching, Dr. Larsen was a lifelong world traveler.  He typically chose the

      the slower pace of cruise liners and tramp steamers to circle the globe until poor

      health curtailed his travels.  He was an accomplished harpist, lover of fine arts and

      the theater, and a prolific reader.  He is remembered for his sharp mind, his dry

      sense of humor and a practical approach to life.

 

As a reminder of the less orthodox quirks of his outlook I fondly recall the informal tour that he provided to my partner Kelly and me through the grounds of John Waters’s (director of Pink Flamingoes and other edgy films) home in the general vicinity of the Johns Hopkins campus.  We just tromped in some open passageway and explored what looked like a ruined English garden behind the house.   John lived nearby in a condo unit in a Mies van der Rohe-designed building.

 

John Larsen (d. January 31, 2012 at age 84) was buried in Riverside Cemetery, Menominee, MI.

Inquiries may be directed to the Burgee-Henss-Seitz Funeral Home (410-889-3735).

 

Floyd Zula,

formerly at California State University - Fullerton