Many users have called or emailed us to inquire about the condition of our materials, post-Katrina. The material housed in the Louisiana Division/City Archives at the Main Library suffered no damage from the storm. The Main Library (including the basement where much of the archives is housed) did not flood, and no materials were compromised as a result of the hurricane. We did suffer damage at our off-site storage facility; however, the historically significant records housed there had all been microfilmed prior to the storm, and the information contained in them is safe. The damaged original records themselves were treated by an archival disaster recovery company and have been returned to us.

The Louisiana Division/City Archives is open for normal business. However, due to staffing cuts, we ask that any researchers planning a visit to the Division (particularly those who need to use original, unmicrofilmed material) please contact us in advance of their visit to inform us of their research needs. We ask users to be aware that we may not always be able immediately to accommodate those who arrive unannounced. Responding to reference requests that come to us by mail or email remains a high priority with us; however, these same staff shortages may delay our reponse somewhat. Please be patient.

We also want to inform our long-time users that Wayne Everard, our Archivist for nearly 32 years, retired from NOPL on July 28, 2006. Any inquiries regarding our materials should now be directed to Irene Wainwright (iwainwri@gno.lib.la.us; 504 596.2610).