New Orleans Public Library

The New Orleans Public Library (NOPL) is the public library service of the city of New Orleans, Louisiana, United States.

Main Branch, New Orleans Public Library, on Loyola Avenue.

History

The system began in 1896 as the Fisk Free and Public Library in a building on Lafayette Square. Abijah Fisk was a merchant who, over fifty years earlier, had left his house—at the corner of Iberville and Bourbon Streets—to the city for use as a library. Subsequent donations had resulted in libraries and collections not completely free and open to the citizenry. An 1896 city ordinance proposed by Mayor John Fitzpatrick combined the Fisk collection with a newer municipal library. It eventually became known as the New Orleans Public Library.

A turn-of-the-century donation of $50,000 from businessman Simon Hernsheim allowed the library to begin building a significant collection. In 1902 the city received $250,000 from Andrew Carnegie to build a new main library and three branches. By 1908 the new main library was open at Lee Circle, and branches were open on Royal Street at Frenchmen Street the Faubourg Marigny neighborhood, on Pelican Avenue in Algiers, and on Napoleon Avenue near Magazine Street Uptown.^[1]

By 2005, NOPL had a dozen branches in addition to a newer (1960) main library on Loyola Avenue. The branches included Algiers and Napoleon, mentioned above, although renamed.^[2]

Effects of Hurricane Katrina

Flood damaged interior of M.L. King Branch before it was gutted

NOPL was severely impacted by Hurricane Katrina on 29 August 2005. Damage to branch locations ran from two windows broken at the Cita Dennis Hubbell Branch in Algiers to complete destruction of the Martin Luther King Branch in the heavily damaged northern section of the Lower 9th Ward. Photographs of branch building damage are available on the library's website.^[2]

With the devastation of the city and the crippling of city government, NOPL was forced to lay off 90 percent of its employees.^[3] All libraries were closed for over two months. The 19 remaining staff members, when they were able to re-enter the city, began surveying damage and salvaging assets.

Two branches—Hubbell and Nix (on Carrollton Avenue uptown)—re-opened with limited services (no circulation) on 31 October 2005. Part of the Main Library also re-opened. Library administrators began looking for outside sources of funds to begin hiring additional staff.

Branches

The Latter Memorial Branch, in an old St. Charles Avenue mansion, is one of the more architecturally impressive branches.

In 2005, the system included three regional, three major and six neighborhood branches; as of 11 June 2008 the system has ten branches, including temporary branches.^[2]

• Algiers Regional Branch, 3014 Holiday Drive, Algiers. Opened in 1966. Katrina damage: part of facade blew off two sides; wind driven rain destroyed books and equipment; ceiling tiles fell; mold; closed indefinitely. A temporary library in a trailer has been opened in the parking lot. Building demolished in 2010; a new larger branch library is under construction as of May 2011.

• Alvar Branch, 913 Alvar Street, Bywater neighborhood. A Works Progress Administration-built edifice, it opened in 1940. In Katrina, flooded about a foot of water; books, furnishings, and computers damaged; reopened.

• Children's Resource Center, 913 Napoleon Avenue, Uptown New Orleans. Opened in 1908 (was Napoleon Branch, one of the Carnegie libraries). Two large windows broken by Hurricane Katrina. Branch is open.

• Cita Dennis Hubbell Branch, 725 Pelican Avenue, Algiers Point. Opened in 1907, one of the Carnegie libraries. Closed in 1966 after the opening of the Algiers Regional Branch [1]; re-opened as Algiers Point Branch in 1975; renamed Hubbell in 2002. Two broken windows by Hurricane Katrina; reopened 31 October 2005. In May 2008 an architectural assessment found the roof of the century-old building to be in danger of collapse, prompting a closing for an indefinite time as of 24 May 2008.^[4]

• East New Orleans Regional Branch, 5641 Read Boulevard, Eastern New Orleans. Opened in 1968. Major flooding in Hurricane Katrina; fish in parking lot; closed indefinitely. Temporary branch library in trailer on lot.

• Main Library, 219 Loyola Avenue, New Orleans Central Business District. Opened in 1960. In Hurricane Katrina, some broken windows and floor damage from roof leaks; basement stayed dry. Partially re-opened on 31 October 2005; fully operational as of August 2007. Some of the Main Library facility was used by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and other federal agencies and contractors working on disaster recovery.

• Martin Luther King Branch, 1611 Caffin Avenue in the Lower 9th Ward. Opened in 1995. Considered completely destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. The building, housing both the library and a school, was gutted and rebuilt. The library reopened on 5 October 2007. Site of a temporary branch funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's Gulf Coast Libraries Project.

• Mid-City Branch. On 11 June 2007, a branch library opened at 330 N. Carrollton Avenue in a recovering shopping center storefront. It was the first of several temporary branches funded by the Gates Foundation. As of 2011, the Mid-City branch has been moved the American Can Factory Building on Orleans Avenue.

• Milton H. Latter Memorial Branch, 5120 St. Charles Avenue. Opened in 1948 in a mansion built in 1907. Former owner/residents included silent film star Marguerite Clark. Some roof damage from Hurricane Katrina; re-opened early 2006.

• Nix Branch, 1401 S. Carrollton Avenue, Carrollton neighborhood. Opened in 1930. Katrina damage: broken windows on all sides; re-opened 31 October 2005. It was damaged by a tornado on 13 February 2007, forcing a temporary closure for repair, and reopened the following month.

• Nora Navra Branch, 1902 St. Bernard Avenue. Opened in 1954. Major flooding in Hurricane Katrina; very little salvageable; closed indefinitely.

• Norman Mayer (Gentilly) Branch, 2098 Foy Street, Gentilly neighborhood. Opened in 1949. Major flooding in Hurricane Katrina; building has been demolished. As of 2011 a new branch library is under construction at the same location; a temporary branch library is housed in a nearby strip mall at 2077 Caton Street.

• Robert E. Smith Regional Branch, 6301 Canal Boulevard, Lakeview neighborhood. The original branch at this location opened in 1956; in in 1979 it was replaced by a larger building. Interior of first floor completely destroyed by Katrina flooding. After being served by a bookmobile parked in front of building for a few years, a temporary branch in trailer 2 blocks down Harrison Avenue opened, and the building was demolished in 2009. As of May 2011, a new building is under construction.

• Rosa Keller Branch, 4300 S. Broad Street, Broadmoor neighborhood. Opened in 1993 in a 1918 residence. Major flooding in Hurricane Katrina; wood floors buckled; mold; Being housed temporarily in a modular building. The library is set to reopen in 2011. The historic Keller home will be restored and operate as a community center. The 1990s addition has been torn down and will be replaced by a LEED certified addition that will house the library and computer center.^[5] The renovation and expansion is being funded, in part, by a $2 million grant secured by the Broadmoor Improvement Association.^[6]

References

1. ^ "NOPL Centennial Exhibit". New Orleans Public Library. http://nutrias.org/~nopl/info/branches/branches.htm. Retrieved 2006-07-27. 
2. ^ ^{a b c} "Branch libraries". New Orleans Public Library. http://nutrias.org/~nopl/info/branches/branches.htm. Retrieved 2008-06-11. 
3. ^ "Hubbell Library history". Hubbell Library. http://www.hubbelllibrary.org/history.mgi. Retrieved 2006-03-05. 
4. ^ "Algiers library to close Saturday". New Orleans Times-Picayune. 2008-05-22. http://www.nola.com/timespic/stories/index.ssf?/base/library-148/1211434406144930.xml&coll=1. Retrieved 2008-06-11. 
5. ^ http://villagegreenlibrary.org/content/rosa-keller-library Village Green at the New Orleans Public Library. Retrieved on 2010-07-09
6. ^ http://belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu/publication/17456/community_identifies_rosa_f_keller_library_as_priority_project.html?breadcrumb=%2Fproject%2F54%2Fbroadmoor_project Belfer Center, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. Retrieved on 2010-07-09

External links

• NOPL official Web site
• Cita Dennis Hubbell Branch