After more than a year of renovations, Nix Library is back open to the public. The construction included the addition of an accessible bathroom, a wheelchair lift, and automatic doors, bringing the 92-year-old building up to ADA standards.
This summer, the Library hosted five teenage interns at five different locations. Throughout their month-long placement, the students learned how libraries work, what is needed to thrive in a professional setting, and how they can have an impact in their communities – all while getting paid.
Last month, we celebrated the achievements of 85 adults who received their diplomas during the 15th annual Greater New Orleans Adult Education Graduation. The graduating class successfully passed their HiSETs – a high school equivalency exam similar to the GED – after attending one of a number of adult education programs, including the 13 students Library services.
Over the past five years, an unlikely venue has become one of drag queen Laveau Contraire’s favorite places to perform: the Library.
The New Orleans Public Library has launched a new tool lending service, located inside the East New Orleans Regional Library.
Celebrated New Orleans rapper Alfred Banks is joining forces with the Library to help curate Crescent City Sounds, a free streaming service that features an exclusively local music library.
People are always asking DJ Soul Sister for book and film recommendations. Now, thanks to her new collaboration with the Library, anyone can read and watch like her!
Geraldine Vaucresson was hired in 1961 as the first Black librarian in New Orleans to work at a traditionally white library. Her employment was part of a strategic to integrate the Library in practice, as well as on paper, which happened in 1954.
Until her death in 1998, Rosa F. Keller repeatedly took up arms to fight for equality for all – regardless of race, gender, or sexual identity – and was an especially important figure in the New Orleans Public Library’s path to inclusivity.
In honor of Black History Month and the New Orleans Public Library’s 125th anniversary, we’re taking a look back at the Library’s Black leadership.