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Description

Special Collections

Extraordinary materials in the Louisiana and Special Collections Department at the Earl K. Long Library draw students, scholars, and members of the community.  Their housing and conservation needs vary, ranging from the simple provision of processing supplies to the costly task of reformatting thousands of hours of films and videotapes.  Among over 530 collections are:

  • Business Records—the records of New Orleans-area businesses large and small, of various kinds. They include art galleries, mortuaries, retail establishments, and many more
  • Historical Archives of the Supreme Court of Louisiana—over a century of case files (1813-1920) involving matters that ranged from runaway slaves to steamboat explosions to murder. Many include maps, photographs, and ephemeral materials such as those shown below.
  • Orleans Parish School Board Archives—records that date from the board’s inception in 1840, including minute books, photographs, school memorabilia, and much more
  • Alec Gifford WDSU Television Archives of New Orleans Broadcasting—television newsfilm and video from local stations WDSU and WVUE, documenting the way we were from 1948 to 1995