A renowned scholar in equity of access,  Linda Lucas Walling is an internationally recognized advocate and expert on issues related to library and information access for children and young adults and others whom society has labeled as having disabilities.

Walling joined the faculty of the University of South Carolina in 1977 and retired in 2003. She was awarded the Ph.D. in library science from the University of Illinois in 1980, Masters of Librarianship from the University of Washington in 1966, and B.A. in Library Science from the University of Northern Iowa in 1961.

Walling taught courses in reference, adult materials, academic libraries and library services to diverse populations, her chief area of research. She wrote books and articles on those topics, and in 1985, her book "The Disabled Child in the Library: Moving into the Mainstream," written with Marilyn H. Karrenbrock, was designated for a book award by the President’s Committee on Employment of the Handicapped. An updated edition of the book, "Disabilities, Children and Libraries," was published in 1993.

She was an active member of the Association of Specialized and Cooperative Library Agencies, a division of the American Library Association that had as a primary concern services to people with disabilities, from the late 1970s until her retirement. ASCLA honored her in 2001 with its Exceptional Service Award. She was listed in "Who’s Who in the South and Southwest, 1992/1993;" "Who’s Who of American Women, 1999/2000" and "Silver Anniversary Edition; "and "Who’s Who in America, 2003."

In retirement, her interest in services to children and young adults with differing abilities continues through the Linda Lucas Walling Collection for Disabled Children and other professional and personal interest activities. A personal interest has been poetry writing. An example is The Combat Medic, a poem that has caught the attention of active duty and retired military people and their families.