UL Lafayette Special Collections

The Louisiana Room is a division of Special Collections that contains Dupré Library's collection of materials relating to Louisiana and the University. Resources include agriculture, arts and literature, business and industry, education, history, politics and government, and graduate and undergraduate theses. The various materials are available through Louisiana documents, books, periodicals, maps, microforms, DVDs, CDs, phonograph records, and vertical files. Published and cataloged materials can be found through the online Dupré Library Catalog, while uncatalogued resources (Louisiana state documents, maps, and vertical files) may be found in indexes linked through the Special Collections website.

Louisiana state documents are organized by Louisiana document number according to the subject. The Louisiana Map Collection contains state and local maps, both current and historical. Vertical files consist of clippings from various Louisiana newspapers that have been organized topically for quicker access. Indexes for these files may be browsed in three categories: General, University, and Biographies. The Louisiana Room also includes an extensive Genealogy Collection for researching family histories in Louisiana.

The Louisiana Room contains a large collection of books that cover a wide variety of topics related to Louisiana as a whole. These topics include local and regional history, Louisiana cities and parishes, religion, the oil industry, Cajun and Creole cultures, agriculture, Louisiana politics, and much more. Forms include fiction, non-fiction, journals, magazines, reports, and audiovisual materials. Information on these books are available through the Dupré Library Catalog. While users may check these books out, the books themselves do not circulate. In other words, they cannot leave the Jefferson Caffery Reading Room.

Louisiana state documents are collected by the government and distributed to each of the Louisiana institutions. These documents are organized by Louisiana document number according to the subject.

These documents are not available in the Dupré Library Catalog, but an Louisiana State Documents Index (PDF) can be found on the Special Collections website.

The Louisiana Room has close to 40 drawers filled with state and local maps, both current and historical. These include geological surveys, the Mississippi Valley and colonial Louisiana, city and parish maps from 1900 to the present, aeronautical charts, quadrangles, and water resources. An index of these maps and the drawers (PDF) they are located in can be found on the Special Collections website.

Vertical files consist of clippings from various Louisiana newspapers that have been organized topically for quicker access. The files are divided into two major categories: Louisiana and The University. These files are not cataloged, though indexes are available on the Special Collections website.

The Louisiana Room includes an extensive Genealogy Collection for researching family histories in Louisiana. These books are separated from the book collection and can be found in the Jefferson Caffery Reading Room. Users may browse these books at their leisure, but must bring them to the Special Collections desk once finished.

View an inventory for this Genealogy Collection (PDF). also available for users' reference is a genealogical research guide (PDF).

The Louisiana Room has a large collection of microfilm and microfiche. This collection contains historical newspapers and parish civil records. Civil records include original acts, conveyances, marriages, successions, donations, and notaries. Microform materials can be viewed on readers in the Jefferson Caffery Reading Room. More materials can also be found in the Microforms department on the 1st floor of Dupré Library.

There is a small collection of audiovisual materials in the Louisiana Room. These include CDs, DVDs, phonograph records, and cassettes. These materials are non-circulating and must be viewed in the Jefferson Caffery Reading Room. Appropriate equipment is available for all of these items.

For more information on the Louisiana Room, contact:

Neil Guilbeau

Reference Archivist/Louisiana Room Librarian

(337) 482-1164

neil.guilbeau@louisiana.edu