Libraries

Azaleas bloom in front of Howard-Tilton Memorial Library

Tulane's twelve libraries make up a research network ranked among the top in the nation. In addition to the main library, the Howard-Tilton Memorial Library, the university’s professional schools have libraries of law, business and health sciences. Tulane is known for unique and world-renowned collections at the Latin American Library, the Amistad Research Center and Tulane University Special Collections, which draw researchers from around the globe.

The Howard-Tilton Memorial Library is Tulane's main library and supports, promotes and enriches the teaching and learning mission of the university. The library enables the discovery, dissemination and preservation of academic information resources in the humanities, social sciences and science and engineering. Our spaces bring together students, scholars and intellectual resources from across all programs to broaden and deepen intellectual life at Tulane.

Through welcoming spaces, expert staff, and a broad array of services and resources, Tulane University Libraries support and enrich the teaching, research, and outreach missions of Tulane University. Crossing borders both disciplinary and geographic, we help convene a community of teachers and learners for the conversations that lie at the heart of a great research university.

The Amistad Research Center is the nation's oldest, largest and most comprehensive independent archive specializing in the history of African Americans and other ethnic minorities.

The primary mission of the Lillian A. and Robert L. Turchin Library is to serve the research needs of the students, faculty and staff of the A.B. Freeman School of Business.

The Latin American Library is among the world's foremost collections of Latin American research materials and one of the most comprehensive of its kind, to include substantial collections of rare books, ephemera, manuscripts and an image archive.

The primary mission of the Tulane Law Library is to serve the educational and research needs of the faculty, students and staff of Tulane University Law School.

The Math Library serves the faculty and graduate students of the Mathematics Department and all other sections of Tulane University in mathematics oriented research, as well as the New Orleans academic community.

The Matas Library is the primary resource library for the Tulane University Health Sciences Center comprising the School of Medicine, the School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine and the National Primate Center.

Located on the 6th floor of Howard-Tilton Memorial Library, Media Services is the primary service point for music reference, sound recordings and video recordings.

The Newcomb Archives and Vorhoff Library Special Collections collect, preserve and make available records, manuscript materials and a non-circulating special collection library devoted to the history of women at Newcomb College and Tulane University, women in the American South, culinary history, women's education, prescriptive literature, Newcomb authors, third wave feminist zines, and the work of women in general, as well as the Marla Custard collection on sexuality.

Tulane University Special Collections (TUSC) encompasses the Hogan Archive of New Orleans Music and New Orleans Jazz, the Louisiana Research Collection, the Rare Books Collection, the Southeastern Architectural Archive, and University Archives. Its holdings are comprised of nearly 2,500 archival collections, over 100,000 volumes of rare books that date back to the 12th century, and other rare and unique materials that document the history, culture, and communities of New Orleans and beyond. Among the strengths of TUSC are Louisiana literature, Carnival history, New Orleans music and New Orleans jazz, local LGBTQ studies, history of the book, and the records of Tulane University.

The Hogan Archive of New Orleans Music and New Orleans Jazz supports the research and study of New Orleans music and culture of the late 19th and 20th centuries forward. The musical cultures of New Orleans represented include jazz, ragtime, rhythm and blues, blues, gospel, Creole songs, and other forms of Black American popular music. All materials highlight the culture and communities of the New Orleans region from a music-based perspective.

The Louisiana Research Collection (LaRC) documents a wide variety of subjects at the local and regional level, primarily dating from the 19th and 20th centuries. Subject strengths include art, business, Carnival, the Civil War, the environment, Jewish studies, LGBTQ+ studies, medicine, politics, social welfare, literature, and women's studies.

The Rare Books Collection spans a wide range of time periods and topics, containing over 100,000 volumes that date from as early as the 12th century to as recent as the present day. Strengths include book history and design, African American history and culture, science fiction, zines, local independent presses, and monographic collections that give a close look at the writings and editions of particular authors, including William Faulkner, Stendhal, Edward Gorey, and Lafcadio Hearn.

The Southeastern Architectural Archive (SEAA) is TUSC’s dedicated collection for the history of architecture in Louisiana and New Orleans. With holdings spanning nearly 200 years, SEAA collects professional records documenting Louisiana, metropolitan New Orleans, and selected parts of the Gulf South.

University Archives collects, preserves, and administers the official records of the university. It also holds student registration ledgers, alumni lists, and yearbooks, as well as historical memorabilia, such as alumni scrapbooks, that have been contributed by alumni donors.