Biographical Text
Professor Emeritus of Librarianship. William Leonard Eury (October 16, 1904 -), retired teacher and librarian, was born in Gastonia, North Carolina, the son of James Walter Eury and Lona Dee (Douglas) Eury. After earning his B.A. degree at Duke University in 1926, Eury began his career as a teacher of mathematics and French at Clarkton High School in Clarkton, North Carolina where he served until 1929. Eury first worked at Appalachian State University in the library (now the Carol Grotnes Belk Library) during the summer of 1928. He filled in for Mrs. Emma Horton Moore, who had been in an accident President Dougherty asked Mr. Eury to "look after the library for her while she was hors de combat." Eury had no library school training and was hired only because he had served as a student assistant in the Duke University Library. After Eury's summer employment experience, Mrs. Moore encouraged Dr. Dougherty to hire him as an assistant. He fulfilled his one-year contract at Clarkton High School, and the next year came to Appalachian to be Mrs. Moore's assistant. His first full year at Appalachian was 1929-30, the year when Appalachian Normal School became Appalachian State Teachers College, a four-year institution. From that time until Dr. Dougherty retired, he always referred to Eury as "the boy who helped Mrs. Moore." When Eury first went to the Appalachian library, it was in a small room on the top floor of the old administration building and had possibly 2,000 volumes in the collection, many of them badly in need of repair. Moore and Eury almost had to "begin from scratch," and the budget for purchasing books and materials was very small. First of all, Eury had to go to library school to earn a degree in Library Science, since at the time Appalachian was trying to get accreditation from the Southern Association. President Dougherty allowed Eury to go to Nashville only three months at a time, so he received his B.S. in library science in 1937 and his M.S. in library science in 1951 (with the aid of the G.I. Bill). During World War II Eury served for three years with the United States Air Force, 18 months of which was spent as a member of the 449th Bomb Group of the 15th Air Force in Italy. Afterward, Eury returned to Appalachian. Since teachers colleges at that time always got the short end of the stick as far as appropriations were concerned, the budget for the library books and supplies was inadequate for the planned growth of the library. Although the institution grew in size and number of students, the growth in the acquisition of volumes was slow at best. (Eury observes that the University Librarian Richard Barker is "counting his blessings" now that Appalachian State University is a part of The University of North Carolina.) The following were accomplished during Eury's forty year affiliation with the Appalachian State University library: 1) Expansion of the book and periodicals collection (Library staff and faculty worked in unison in checking bibliographies and other sources to build up a suitable collection.) 2) Beginning a separate Music Library Collection (housed in the Music Department). 3) Planning the Appalachian Collection (now known as the William Leonard Eury Appalachian Collection). 4) Planning the Curriculum Laboratory. Eury's biggest contribution over the years, however, was assembling a dedicated and helpful staff who were always interested in giving excellent and personalized service. The student body was smaller at the time and the staff were able to give more individual attention then than would be possible today with such a huge number of students. Eury retired from Appalachian State University and the Belk Library in 1970 and moved to an old white house on a hill (Highacre) in Bessemer City, North Carolina. A bachelor, Eury lives with three of his sisters and is "waited on hand and foot!" He spends much of his free time in November each year signing and addressing hundreds of Christmas cards that he sends to people he knows in places he has lived in Bessemer City, Gastonia, Durham, and Boone, North Carolina and Nashville, Tennessee. The local post office thought he might have to get an extra ZIP code! He also occasionally visits the Appalachian library. He takes a trip to New York City every January to see a new group of plays but also enjoys the plays in Bessemer City. He says he never misses a production of the Little Theatre of Gastonia. and he serves on the arts council. On Mondays, he delivers hot lunches to 10 housebound people as part of Bessemer City's meals-on-wheels program. In addition, he helps with fund-raising for the Lion's Club. "You name it. and we sell it," he boasts. Since his retirement, Eury has received two awards: in 1981 he was honored as "Lion of the Year"; and, in 1982 he received the Chamber of Commerce "Citizen of the Year" award. Eury serves on the board of the Gaston County Department of Aging. He is a member of a senior citizen's group at his church, and says the members gather frequently for meals out. He holds membership in various organizations including: Phi Delta Kappa, American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Air Force Association, Bessemer City Chamber of Commerce, Bessemer City Lions Club, American Library Association, Southeastern Library Association and the North Carolina Library Association. He says he is involved in so many activities because he likes to be with people and to find out what is going on. Eury says he likes his life now, in a comfortable home with all the modern conveniences. "They can talk about the 'Good Old Days' all they want, but they can have them," he says. This 1987 edition of The Appalachian Faculty Emeriti book is dedicated to Mr. Eury (please see the Dedication page). Sources: Who'sWhoinAmericanCollegeandUniversityAdministration,l910-\97l', Who's Who in America; Who's Who in American Education, Special Collections in the Libraries of the Southeast, The Gastonia Gazette, Appalachian State University files, and long association. - Dr. Richard D. Howe
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