City Archives & Special Collections, New Orleans Public Library

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Contact Information
Address: 219 Loyola Avenue New Orleans, LA 70112 Telephone: 504-596-2610 Hours of Operation: Monday to Friday 10:00 am - 5:00 pm (appointment)  Directions/Parking Map: Email: archivist@nolalibrary.org Website: archives.nolalibrary.org Facebook:

Description of Collections
The City Archives & Special Collections the official; repository of the records of the Municipal Government of the City of New Orleans, 1769 to the present. The Division collects those records that form the building blocks of the city and those that will guide its future.

The City Archives & Special Collections also preserves collections important to the history of the City. This includes among others; a Carnival Collection, Local Photograph Collection, Map Collection, Menu Collection, Postcard Collection, Manuscript Collection, and a Rare Book Collection.

The Division's extensive Genealogy Collection contains books, periodicals and microfilms with emphasis on New Orleans, Louisiana, the Southeast United States, Nova Scotia, France, and Spain.

The City Archives & Special Collections provides education opportunities to learn about the collections and their uses. We are able to do this through our programming, exhibits, partnerships and outreach.

Services
Research Services

The Archives provides expanded research and reference services to our patrons. Staff is able to assist with some research, provide paper and digital copies and answer related questions.

Tips for Your Visit
Requesting Materials

Researchers can inquire about the availability of materials in the Archives by calling 504-596-2610 or by emailing archivist@nolalibrary.org.

In order to maximize your research time in the archives, materials should be requested prior to your visit. Only materials retrieved prior to your visit will be available for research. We may not be able to retrieve additional items during an appointment.

Please review the Guidelines for Materials for information about materials in the collection and how to request them.

Once the request has been processed, we will notify you by email when the requested items are available, explain the restrictions on materials to you, if any exist, and ask you to schedule an appointment. Please include preferred appointment times in your request, and we will accommodate where possible.

Requests will be reviewed and responded to from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm, Monday to Friday.

Scheduling Appointments

Researchers should request an appointment in advance of their visit, to ensure availability. An appointment can be made by calling 504-596-2610 or emailing archivist@nolalibrary.org

New appointments should be requested no less than 3 working days in advance. Requests will be reviewed and responded to from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm, Monday to Friday.

Appointments times are:

Monday to Thursday

10:00 am-12:00 pm

12:30 pm-2:30 pm

3:00 pm-5:00 pm

Friday

10:00 am-12:00 pm

12:30 pm-2:30 pm

Closed Saturday and Sunday

Due to demand, we may not be able to schedule multiple appointments on a specific day or schedule multiple appointments at a time.

If you will be late or need to cancel an appointment, call or email prior to your appointment time

You can complete our brief Registration Form prior to your visit.

Duplication

The majority of materials can be photographed by patrons using non-flash photography. City Archives & Special Collections staff will make the final determination on an item's suitability for reproduction.

Microfilm can be viewed, photocopied or scanned creating a digital image. If you would like to create a scan from microfilm, please bring a USB flash drive.

Photocopiers and scanners are not available to researchers. You may use your own camera or mobile device for duplication purposes.

Only blueprints can be sent off-site for duplication, within Archives guidelines. There is a 50.00 handling fee and a digital copy must be provided to the Archives. Contact the department prior to scheduling a pick-up

Guides
Genealogy Guide

Property Research

Research Guide
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