Latin American Library Special Collections Move

The Latin American Library’s special collections (rare books, manuscripts, image archive and Closed Stacks collections) will be unavailable during June and July when much of this material will be moved to our off-site library facility at 900 S. Jefferson Davis Parkway in anticipation of the pending construction of two more floors on top of the Howard-Tilton building. We anticipate reopening access to LAL special collections on August 1, 2013 in temporary reading space being prepared at the off-site facility.

The move, scheduled to commence next week, should not affect LAL circulating collections or the LAL offices on the 4th floor of H-TML, which will remain open and available at regular hours throughout the move and the subsequent construction. Contact lal@tulane.edu or 504-865-5681 with any questions.

As a temporary home for the LAL special collections the off-site location will offer reproduction facilities with its reading room.  The library will be working to provide university transportation to the facility, which is located just two miles from Tulane's uptown campus. Classroom visits and instruction sessions using the rare materials will also be accommodated off-site. These arrangements will allow the library to resume its Greenleaf Fellowship Program for 2013-2014.  Additional information is provided on the LAL web site.  

Entrance Switch Accomplished

The switch to the temporary main library entrance and access ramp on the Freret Street side of the library's 1st floor Learning Commons was accomplished as planned, with adjustments made during this past week to prepare for more students and faculty to return to the library after spring break. The switch was made now to make it possible for the eventual contractor for the project to erect perimeter fencing around the library immediately upon award of the construction contract.  Cranes (including one to be located close to the former main entrance) and construction materials would be staged within the fenced security perimeter.
 

Temp Entrance Update: Switch to Begin Next Friday

Work to begin the switch to the temporary main library entrance and access ramp now constructed on the Freret Street side of the library's 1st floor Learning Commons is scheduled to commence Friday, March 22. Saturday, March 23, is expected to be the first full day with the temporary entrance in operation. The switch will begin on Friday when technicians begin to dismantle the security gate and gate counter at the current entrance. Then the gate and counter will be reinstalled near the temporary entrance. When this is complete, the new entrance will be opened and the present one closed. The present main entrance will be used only as an emergency exit until the construction staging area outside is cleared in the later stages of the two-year building project. There will be no disruption in scheduled library hours during the entrance switchover.