Arthur Ray Rowland (1930–2024) was a librarian and academic administrator whose career spanned more than three decades at Augusta College (now Augusta University). Appointed College Librarian in 1961, Rowland led the library through a period of substantial growth and modernization, including the conversion from the Dewey Decimal system to the Library of Congress Classification and preparation for the institution’s transition to a four-year degree program in 1963.

During his tenure, the library’s collection expanded from a small undergraduate collection to more than 400,000 volumes by the late 1980s. Rowland oversaw major facility expansions, coordinated book acquisition initiatives, and secured external funding, including a 1972 gift from Katherine Reese Pamplin that supported construction of the Reese Library, which opened in 1977. He also advanced library automation and resource sharing by establishing Augusta College as a founding member of the Southeastern Library Network (SOLINET) in 1974 and implementing automated cataloging and circulation systems in the 1980s.

Rowland expanded access to government documents, interlibrary loan services, bibliographic databases, and Special Collections. He served as a library consultant in Indonesia in 1986 and retired in 1991 as Chief Librarian. He was born in Hampton, Georgia, educated at Mercer University and Emory University, and held librarian positions at several institutions prior to his appointment at Augusta College. Rowland was active in professional and local historical organizations, including the Georgia Library Association and the Richmond County Historical Society.