Tulane's Special Collections
specialcollections.tulane.edu

Tulane's Special Collections

6801 Freret St., Joseph Merrick Jones Hall Rm 200
New Orleans, LA 70118 [Map It]
(504) 865-5685
Fax: (504) 865-5761
Neighborhood: Uptown/Garden District

Attraction Information

Attraction Hours: Monday – Thursday 9a.m. – 6p.m., Friday at 9a.m. – 5p.m. and Saturday 9a.m. – 1p.m.
Admission Costs: free
Handicapped Accessible: Yes
Free Parking: No

Description:

Tulane University’s Howard-Tilton Memorial Library offers a Special Collections Division for student and professional research. The Special Collections Division has six departments: Jazz Archive, Manuscripts Department, University Archives, Louisiana Collection, Rare Books and Architectural Archives. Together, these comprise the world’s largest research center and archives for New Orleans and the world’s second largest for Louisiana.

Many of its holdings are international cultural treasures, such as the papers of Confederate President Jefferson Davis, the Gettysburg letters of Confederate General Robert E. Lee, and the papers of New Orleans Pulitzer Prize winning author John Kennedy Toole (Confederacy of Dunces). Scholars visit from around the world, but Special Collections prides itself in helping students and educating cultured travelers on the rich history of New Orleans and the Gulf South.

The Hogan Jazz Archive preserves oral histories, recordings, sheet music, and images, about Jazz in New Orleans. Special holdings include collections from Dominic LaRocca, Souchon, Al Rose, William Russell, Roger C. Gulbrandsen, Robichaux and Ralston Crawford.

The Manuscripts Department is the home of New Orleans’ most comprehensive research archives, with documents ranging from the colonial period to the present. Strong points include the Civil War, Jewish Studies, women’s studies, medicine, Mardi Gras, Louisiana politics, Southern literature and more.

The Tulane University Archives houses the official records of Tulane University. Interested parties can find Tulane dissertations, catalogues and publications. Curious visitors can also find information on the university’s founders and benefactors.

The Louisiana Collection contains historical printed materials from French explorations to the present. Come and explore the rich culture of Louisiana through 19th century books, pamphlets, maps, sheet music, newspapers and photographs. The Louisiana map collection contains extensive documentation about Louisiana as well as the historical Louisiana territory, “La Louisiane”.

The Rare Books section holds more than 50,000 titles that are priceless and virtually irreplaceable. Visitors can find unique publications such as a leaf from the Gutenberg Bible. Special authors collections include William Faulkner, Lafcadio Hearn and Robert Southey.

The Southeastern Architectural Archive is the largest collection of architectural drawings and records in the state. The archives support the study of architectural and urban history in New Orleans and Louisiana.

Tulane University’s Special Collections are all located in Jones Hall in beautiful uptown New Orleans on Tulane’s campus. Take the St. Charles Avenue Streetcar for about a 30-minute ride from Canal Street. Exit the Streetcar at Tulane University, which is located right across from Audubon Park. Walk through Tulane’s campus (going away from the park) until you get to Freret Street. The Joseph Merrick Jones Hall is located at 6801 Freret Street. All collections are free and open to the public. Collections are open Monday – Thursday 9a.m. – 6p.m., Friday at 9a.m. – 5p.m. and Saturday 9a.m. – 1p.m. For more information, call (504) 865-5685 or visit: http://specialcollections.tulane.edu.