Blog Archives

Curator of the Louvre Visits LSU Special Collections

Blaise Ducos views an item from Special Collections through a magnifying glass

LSU Libraries boasts one of the most prestigious Special Collections operations in the country and serves as a destination archive for researchers around the world. In February, a curator from the Louvre Museum in Paris, visited LSU Libraries Special Collections

Posted in Announcements, Special Collections

Descendants of African American Poets Discover Their Roots in LSU Libraries Special Collections

scans of the cover of Gems of the Soul alongside a photo of Harry Wilson Patterson from inside the book

After 50 years of searching for their grandfather’s long-lost publications, two cousins had no idea they would find what they had been searching for more than 1,000 miles from home in LSU Libraries’ Special Collections.

Posted in Announcements, Diversity, Press Releases, Special Collections

LSU Libraries Special Collections Restores Historic Mardi Gras Scrapbook

a hand traces the lettering on the cover of an old scrapbook

By Christine Wendling and Brooke Bell Mardi Gras Traditions During the past 300 years of Mardi Gras’ existence, certain customs have crystallized within the communities in and surrounding New Orleans. For example, krewes (pronounced “crews”) are social organizations that orchestrate

Posted in Announcements, Special Collections

Video: LSU Libraries Special Collections is Restoring a 19th-Century Mardi Gras Scrapbook

Hands swab a Mardi Gras invitation to clean it

Video: a Mardi Gras scrapbook originally put together in the 1800s is being restored by LSU Libraries to preserve part of Louisiana’s cultural heritage. You can also view the digitized images of the scrapbook on the Louisiana Digital Library.

Posted in Announcements, Resources, Special Collections

New Resource: LSU Libraries is Digitizing Louisiana Prison Newspapers

image of the cover of The Angolite prison news magazine

Since 1948, LSU Libraries has committed significant resources to the preservation of historic and current newspapers published in Louisiana. As part of that ongoing effort, the Libraries has collaborated with Reveal Digital on their initiative, American Prison Newspapers 1800–2020: Voices

Posted in Announcements, Digital Collections, Resources, Special Collections

Listen: LSU Special Collections Fall Exhibition featured on NPR’s “Louisiana Considered”

image of dredging equipment near a body of water

LSU Libraries’ Exhibition Manager, Leah Wood Jewett, and Associate Professor at LSU’s College of the Coast & Environment, Tracy Quirk spoke on NPR’s “Louisiana Considered” about LSU Libraries’ new exhibition focused on the state’s wetlands. Dubbed, “Water, Water Everywhere: Control

Posted in Announcements, Exhibitions, Special Collections

Special Collections Awards FY23 Research Grants to Four Scholars

Photo collage of grant recipients

LSU Libraries selected four scholars to receive research grants during the 2022-2023 academic year for their projects using materials in Special Collections’ holdings. Three travel grants cover funds for travel, lodging, and other types of support associated with a research

Posted in Announcements, Special Collections

Most important private collection of African American poetry now in Special Collections

The Wyatt Houston Day Collection of Poetry by African Americans, the most important private collection of Black poetry, now belongs to LSU. The LSU Libraries Special Collections will house the over 800 items previously owned by book collector and dealer

Posted in Announcements, Diversity, Press Releases, Special Collections Tagged with: , , , , , , ,

Special Collections to host LEH Witness to Change reading and discussion series

The Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities, through the Coastal Impacts initiative, has chosen LSU Libraries – Special Collections as a host site for a new adult reading and discussion series. “Witness to Change: Community Conversations on Coastal Impacts”.

Posted in Announcements, Events, Special Collections

Botanical Birthday

two women in yard

Friends and family of Julia Hawkins and members of the LSU Hilltop Arboretum joined us this weekend to celebrate her 106th birthday. Guests viewed original watercolors by botanical artist Margaret Stones. Hawkins and her late husband, Murray (former chair of

Posted in Announcements, Exhibitions, Special Collections

Flora & Fauna at 50: The E. A. McIlhenny Natural History Collection 1971-2021

book with illustrations of butterflies

In 1971, John Stauffer “Jack” McIlhenny (1909-1997) transformed LSU Libraries with the gift of the personal library of his uncle, E. A. “Ned” McIlhenny of Avery Island, LA. The exhibition “Flora & Fauna at 50: The E. A. McIlhenny Natural

Posted in Exhibitions, Special Collections

Anonymous gift funds new graduate assistantship in LSU Libraries Special Collections

photo of person sitting

“The record, sometimes, is not very welcoming to me.” – Dre Tarleton, graduate assistant in LSU Libraries Special Collections  In the summer of 2020, LSU Libraries was presented with an unrestricted donor gift of $50,000 that allowed the Libraries to

Posted in Announcements, Diversity, Special Collections Tagged with: ,

Recent faculty publications

2022

Kelsey, Sigrid, ed. Fostering Student Success: Academic, Social, and Financial Initiatives, ALA Editions, 2022.

2021

O’Neill, Brittany. “Do They Know It When They See It?: Natural Language Preferences of Undergraduate Students for Library Resources,” College & Undergraduate Libraries. Volume 28, Issue 2 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1080/10691316.2021.1920535

O’Neill, Brittany and Rebecca Kelley. “Delivering Bad News: Crisis Communication Methods in Academic Libraries,” College & Research Libraries, Volume 82, Issue 3 (May 2021). https://doi.org/10.5860/crl.82.3.310

Connel, Ruth Sara; Lisa C. Wallis; David Comeaux. “The Impact of COVID-19 on the Use of Academic Library Resources,” Information Technology and Libraries. Volume 40, Issue 2 (2021). https://doi.org/10.6017/ital.v40i2.12629

O’Neill, B. (2021).”Three-layer primary source dip: Introducing history students to primary source research through active learning.” In The teaching with primary sources cookbook, edited by J. M. Porterfield, 16-18. Association of College & Research Libraries, 2021.

2020 

Blessinger, Kelly and Dave Comeaux. “User Experience with a New Public Interface for an Integrated Library System,” Information Technology in Libraries. Volume 39, Issue 1. https://doi.org/10.6017/ital.v39i1.11607

Cramer, Jennifer A. “First, Do No Harm”: Tread Carefully Where Oral History, Trauma, and Current Crises Intersect,” The Oral History Review, 47:2 (2020): 203-213, DOI: 10.1080/00940798.2020.1793679

Diamond, Tom, ed. The Academic Librarian in the Digital Age: Essays on Changing Roles and Responsibilities. McFarland, 2020.

Kelley, Rebecca and Mitch Fontenot. “Serving our Student Veterans in Louisiana,” Louisiana Libraries. Volume 82, Issue 2 (Spring 2020).

Kuyper-Rushing, Lois.A Thematic Index of Works by Eugene Bozza, A-R Editions, 2020.

Lounsberry, Megan. “Troubleshooting electronic resources from an ILL perspective,” Technical Services Quarterly, Volume 37, Issue 3.
https://doi.org/10.1080/07317131.2020.1768699

McDonald, Ebony. “2020 Regina Medal Recipient Christopher Paul Curtis,” Catholic Library World. 

Miles, John David.  “James Harrison and the Tensas Troubles of 1878,” Civil War Book Review: Volume 22, Issue 1 (Winter 2020).

Morgan, Randa Lopez. 2020. “Supporting Student Wellness and Success through the LSU Libraries Relaxation Room.Journal of Library Outreach and Engagement v. 1, no. 1: 104–115.

2019

Batte, Elizabeth; David Dunaway; Emily Frank; Sarah Mazur; and Laurie Phillips. “LOUIS Membership with Open Textbook Network Brings Incentive for Faculty OER Advocacy on Campuses,” CODEX: Journal of the Louisiana Chapter of the ACRL. Volume 5, Issue 3 (Fall/Winter 2019).

Borchardt, Rachel; Polly Boruff-Jones; Sigrid Kelsey; and Jennifer Matthews, “A Proposed Framework for the Evaluation of Academic Librarian Scholarship” (2019). Proceedings of the Charleston Library Conference.

Comeaux, Dave;  Emily Frank; and Mike Waugh. “Supporting Student Success: E-books as Course Materials,” CODEX: Journal of the Louisiana Chapter of the ACRL. Volume 5, Issue 2 (Fall/Winter 2019).

Dunaway, David. “Bibliometrics for Faculty Evaluation: A Stastical Comparison of h-indexes Generated Using Google Scholar and Web of Science Data,” CODEX: Journal of the Louisiana Chapter of the ACRL. Volume 5, Issue 3 (Fall/Winter 2019).

Haber, Natalie, Melissa Cornwell, & Andrea Hebert. “This worksheet works: Making the DLS Standards work for you,” College & Research Libraries News. 

Hawk, Amanda K. “Implementing Standardized Statistical Measures and Metrics for Public Services in Archival Repositories and Special Collections Libraries,” Proceedings of the 2018 Library Assessment Conference, (Association of Research Libraries, 2019): 836-843. https://doi.org/10.29242/lac.2018.78

Hebert, Andrea and Jodi Duet. “’I’m Really Confident I Can Find the Exact IKEA Pillow’: A Qualitative Look at the Search Self-Efficacy of Graduating MLIS Students,” Behavioral & Social Sciences Librarian. https://doi.org/10.1080/01639269.2017.1690891.

Lounsberry, Megan. “No Textbooks Allowed! (Unless You’re a Graduate Student!): Louisiana State University Pilots an ILL Textbook Service. Journal of Interlibrary Loan, Document Delivery & Electronic Reserve, 28 (3/4): 61–73. https://doi.org/10.1080/1072303X.2019.1676862

Miles, John David. “Colfax, Kate Grant, and the Domestication of Reconstruction’s Violence,” Civil War Book Review. Volume 21, Issue 2 (Spring 2019).

Miles, John David. “The Loyalty of West Point’s Graduates Debated,” Civil War Book Review. Volume 21, Issue 1 (Winter 2019).

Miller, Marty. “Curriculum, Departmental, and Faculty Mapping in the Visual Arts Department,” Art Documentation, Volume 38, Issue 1 (March 2019): 159-173.

Morgan, Randa L. “Libraries and Gardens: Growing Together.” Catholic Library World, Volume 90, Issue 1 (September 2019): 68.

O’Neill, Brittany; and  Allen LeBlanc. “Evaluating Trends in Instruction Scheduling Management: A Survey of Louisiana’s Academic Libraries,” CODEX: Journal of the Louisiana Chapter of the ACRL. Volume 5, Issue 2 (Fall/Winter 2019).

Russo, Michael, “The Moon Belongs to Everyone:  ResearchGate and Subscription Databases Compared.”  Louisiana Libraries. Volume 81, Issue 3, (Winter 2019).

Russo, Michael, “Information Literacy through Service Learning” in Library Collaborations and Community Partnerships: Enhancing Health and Quality of Life.  Fannie M. Cox, Henry R. Cunningham, and Vickie Hines-Martin, eds., 2019.

Simms, Sarah; Hayley Johnson. “Hidden in Plain Sight,” 64 Parishes (Magazine of the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities). Issue 4 (Summer 2019). https://64parishes.org/hidden-in-plain-sight.

Simms, S., & Johnson, H. Subtle activism: Using the library exhibit as a social justice tool, Alexandria, Volume 29, Issue 1-2 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1177/0955749019876119.

Ziegler, Scott; and Cara Key. “More Than a Pretty Interface: The Louisiana Digital Library as a Data Hub,” CODEX: Journal of the Louisiana Chapter of the ACRL. Volume 5, Issue 2 (Fall/Winter 2019).

Ziegler, S.L. “Digitization Selection Criteria as Anti-Racist Action,” Code4Lib Journal. Issue 45 (2019). https://journal.code4lib.org/articles/14667

Ziegler, S.L. and Steve Martin. “A Hidden Gem Becomes a Fertile Mining Ground: Historic Prison Admission Books and Data-Driven Digital Projects,” The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography Volume 143, Issue 3 (October 2019): 363-373.

2018

Hebert, Andrea. “Information Literacy Skills of First-Year Library and Information Science Graduate Students: An Exploratory Study,” Evidence Based Library and Information Practice Volume 13, Issue 3 (September 2018).

Miller, Marty. “Sacred vs. Profane in The Great War: A Neutral’s Indictment: Louis Raemaekers’s Use of Religious Imagery in Adoration of the Magi and Our Lady of Antwerp.” Catholic Library World, vol. 89, no. 1, Sept. 2018, pp. 20–32.

Rasmussen, Hans. “The Life and Death of Raquette in Nineteenth-Century New Orleans,” Sport History Review 49 (May 2018): 23-38.

Wilder, Stanley. “Delayed Retirements and the Youth Movement among ARL Library Professionals,” Research Library Issues, no. 295 (2018).

Wilder, Stanley. “Hiring and Staffing Trends in ARL Libraries,” Research Library Issues, no. 295 (2018).

Wilder, Stanley. “Selected Demographic Trends in the ARL Professional Population,” Research Library Issues, no. 295 (2018).

Ziegler, Scott; and Richard Shrake. “PAL: Toward a Recommendation System for Manuscripts,” Information Technology and Libraries, Vol. 37, No. 3 (2018).

2017

Caminita, C.; Cook, M.; and Paster, A. (2017). Thirty years of preserving, discovering, and accessing U.S. agricultural information: Past progress and current challenges. Library Trends, 65(3), 293-315.

Dauterive, Sarah; John Bourgeois; and Sarah Simms. “How little is too little? An examination of information literacy instruction duration for freshmen.” Journal of Information Literacy, 11.1 (2017): 204-219.

Fontenot, Mitch; Emily Frank; and Andrea Hebert. “Going Where the Users Are: Three Variations on a Theme,” Louisiana Libraries, Fall 2017.

Hawk, Amanda K. “Highflying Crowdfunding: Creating a Successful Partnership with a Campus Donor,” Archival Outlook, July/August 2017: 12-13, 19. https://www.bluetoad.com/publication/?i=422988.

Hebert, Andrea; and Marty Miller. (2017). Using FSA-OWI photographs to teach information and visual literacy. Louisiana Libraries, 79(3), 19–25.

Johnson, Hayley. “#NoDAPL: Social Media, Empowerment, and Civic Participation at Standing Rock,” Library Trends, Fall 2017.

More…

Contact Special Collections

Public Services Desk: (225) 578-6544

Reference Desk: (225) 578-6568

Fax: (225) 578-9425

Email: special@lsu.edu

Submit a reference question

RSS Feed RSS - Special Collections Posts