Introduction to the Collections
How to Find What You're Looking For
Public Computers and Wireless Access
The Louisiana Collection Reading Room is located in room 402 on the 4th floor of the Earl K. Long Library. Special Collections manuscript materials and archives are made available upon patron request. Requests can be made via phone, e-mail, or in-person in the Louisiana Collection Reading Room.
The Earl K. Long Library is located roughly in the center of UNO's Lakefront campus. Visitor parking lots can be accessed via Founders Road from Leon C. Simon Boulevard, or via Alumni Drive from Elysian Fields Avenue, near the University Center. Driving directions and maps of the various campus locations are also available on the UNO website.
The campus may also be reached via the #51, #52, #55, and #60 bus lines. For more information on public transit in New Orleans, please visit the Regional Transit Authority website.
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The Louisiana and Special Collections Department is open Monday through Friday and some Saturdays. Please check the Library's hours page for current hours. To verify hours of operation please call: (504) 280-6544. For requests or questions outside of the department's normal operating hours, please feel free to email one of our staff.
| Boudreaux, Sybil | Department Chair | (504) 280-1157 | sboudrea@uno.edu |
| Jumonville, Florence | Librarian | (504) 280-7275 | fjumonvi@uno.edu |
| Lien, James | Library Associate | (504) 280-6543 | jlien@uno.edu |
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Introduction to the Collections
UNO's Louisiana and Special Collections Department is home to nearly 400 manuscript collections, which include records of local businesses, papers of former UNO faculty members and other local figures, New Orleans and Louisiana ephemera, government documents such as the Supreme Court of Louisiana Historical Archives, and much, much more.
A majority of the materials in the Louisiana and Special Collections Department are "non-circulating", which means they may not be checked out or removed from the Louisiana Collection Reading Room. Louisiana Collection theses and dissertations may be checked out by university students and faculty, and are the only exception to this rule.
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How to Find What You're Looking For
There are several options available for researchers interested in locating Louisiana and Special Collections Department materials.
The first is by using the library's OPAC, or "Online Public Access Catalog". The OPAC can search for books and audiovisual materials located anywhere in the library. Patrons can also limit their searches to Louisiana Collection holdings by selecting Louisiana Collection (Floor 4) under "shelf location" in the OPAC's "Advanced Search" mode.
Manuscript collections in the Louisiana and Special Collections Department are not cataloged, and will not be included in the OPAC's search results. Finding aids for these materials are available online and in the Louisiana Collection Reading Room.
Finding aids provide basic information about processed manuscript collections such as dates relevant to the materials, the size of the collection, and the name of the collection's creator (if known). Also available are biographical or historical notes related to the collection and "container lists" that describe the contents of a collection. Unprocessed collections are materials that have not been thoroughly examined. Information related to the contents of unprocessed collections may be limited, and the materials themselves may not be available for patron use.
Additionally, you may be able to find what you are looking for through the use of our guides, by browsing our manuscript collection subjects, or by conducting an online search of our finding aids.
Finding aids for recently processed collections may not be immediately available online, and will instead be available in the physical listings located in the Reading Room.
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Public Computers and Wireless Access
Three computers are available in the Louisiana Collection Reading Room for use by patrons of the Louisiana and Special Collection Department. We ask that patrons limit any non-research related use of these computers, as they are intended to provide access to the library catalog and other department resources.
Unfortunately, wireless access is only available to UNO students and faculty. There are no exceptions. We apologize for the inconvenience.
If you're still unsure where to begin or would simply like some additional guidance with your search for materials, we encourage you to contact one of our Louisiana and Special Collections Department staff for further information and assistance. Department staff can be contacted via telephone, e-mail, or by visiting the Reading Room in person during our normal hours of operation.
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