Your New Orleans-area colleagues represent some of the most diverse and interesting repositories in the country - many of which are offering special behind-the-scenes access for ARCHIVES 2013 attendees on Tuesday, August 13, and Wednesday, August 14. Arrive early for the conference and visit these repositories. Transportation is on your own. Please contact the facilities directly for scheduling and for answers to your questions.
Please check back for more information and updates provided by our dynamic Host Committee! (And be sure to visit the Host Committee’s blog at http://www.gnoarchivists.org/category/cosa-saa13/.
To add a tour of your repository to the list, contact Carol Bartels,
2013 Host Committee chair (carol@hnoc.org).
Tuesday, August 13; 10:00 am – 11:30 am | Maximum 15, minimum 5. Preregistration required.
Contact information (for reservations and information):
Laura Thomson, Director of Processing,
thomsonl@tulane.edu, 504-314-2137
Archives Behind The Scene! The Amistad Research Center in New Orleans is the nation’s oldest, largest, and most comprehensive independent archives repository of original source material on racial and ethnic history, the civil rights movement, and race relations. Amistad welcomes archival professionals for a behind the scenes tour with Amistad’s professional staff, who will provide a comprehensive tour experience covering areas of the repository’s collection management, preservation, and research functions, including highlights of progress in preservation and digitization of Amistad’s audiovisual collections. A guided tour of Amistad’s current exhibition, Through the Lens: Photographing African American Life will also be included.
Founded in 1966 as a division of the Race Relations Department of Fisk University, the Amistad Research Center traces its lineage to its namesake. On June 28, 1839, the slave ship La Amistad set sail from Havana, Cuba, headed for plantations along the Cuban coast. An onboard revolt eventually led to the ship coming ashore in the United States, where the abducted Africans were jailed and charged with piracy and murder. One of the earliest known civil rights cases taken up by a group of abolitionists, the Amistad Committee to defend the Africans, eventually took their case to the U.S. Supreme Court and procured the Africans’ freedom. The committee evolved into the interracial American Missionary Association, which went on to found hundreds of abolitionist and anti-caste churches and schools around the country. The records of the American Missionary Association are one of over 700 archives and manuscripts collections held at the Amistad Research Center.
Directions: The Amistad Research Center is located at 6823 St. Charles Avenue in the Audubon neighborhood of New Orleans’ Uptown district. The Center is housed in Tilton Memorial Hall on the campus of Tulane University. Situated on the St. Charles streetcar line, Amistad is just a few minutes from numerous restaurants in the Riverbend/Carrollton area, and is easily accessible from downtown New Orleans and the French Quarter.
Parking on St. Charles Avenue within the boundaries of Audubon Park is free. Otherwise, parking along St. Charles and side streets is limited to two hours.
For more information go to www.amistadresearchcenter.org
Tuesday, August 13; 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm | No reservation required.
Contact information (for reservations and information):
Leon Miller, Head, Louisiana Research Collection,
lmiller@tulane.edu or 504-314-7833
The Louisiana Research Collection (LaRC) is the oldest, largest, and most comprehensive research center for New Orleans and the second largest for Louisiana as a whole after Hill Memorial Library at Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge. As an integrated research library and archives, LaRC offers a full range of library and archival research resources, from books and manuscripts to maps and images.
LaRC supports almost every aspect of Louisiana research, but among our special strengths are art, business, Carnival, the Civil War, Jewish studies, LGBT studies, Louisiana politics, medicine, social welfare, literature, waterways, and women's studies.
We welcome CoSA/SAA attendees to come visit the Louisiana Research Collection for an informal open house featuring some of our internationally-recognized holdings.
Directions: The Louisiana Research Collection (LaRC) is located on the uptown campus of Tulane University. The Victor H. and Margaret G. Schiro Reading Room is located in Room 202, Jones Hall, 6801 Freret Street. Jones Hall is directly across Newcomb Place from Howard-Tilton Memorial Library, which is Tulane's main library.
Situated on the St. Charles streetcar line and the Freret bus line, Tulane’s Uptown Campus is just a few minutes from numerous restaurants in the Riverbend/Carrollton area, and is easily accessible from downtown New Orleans and the French Quarter.
The closest metered parking spaces are on Newcomb Circle, two blocks away. Please be aware that all metered spaces are for short-term parking only. Parking along most side streets is limited to two hours.
For more information on getting to LaRC, transportation and parking, please visit http://larc.tulane.edu/patron/location
Tuesday, August 13; 10:00 am and 2:00 pm | Maximum 15, minimum 5. Preregistration required.
Contact information (for reservations and information):
Sarah-Elizabeth Gundlach, Curator, sgundlach@crt.la.gov, 504-568-3660
Attendees will be provided a tour of the Louisiana Historical Center located on the 3rd floor of the Louisiana State Museum’s Old US Mint at 400 Esplanade. The Louisiana Historical Center is Louisiana’s oldest and one of the largest archives with holdings related to many facets of the state’s history. http://www.crt.state.la.us/museum/collections/historical_center/
Directions: By public transportation: From the hotel, walk to the Poydras Streetcar Station. This streetcar goes along the Riverfront and will head toward the French Market. The cost to ride the streetcar is $1.25. It’s an 11 minute trip and it will have 6 stops along the way. The final stop is at the French Market Station. At the last stop, you will get off the streetcar and walk towards the Old U.S. Mint which is the big red brick building directly across from the French Market. The Old US Mint is located at 400 Esplanade Avenue and The Louisiana Historical Center is located on the 3rd floor of the Old US Mint.
For more information go to http://www.crt.state.la.us/museum/properties/usmint/
Wednesday, August 14, 10:00-11:00 am | Maximum 25. Preregistration required.
Contact information (for reservations and information):
Georgia Chadwick,
400 Royal Street, 504-310-2402, GChadiwck@LASC.org
As the best example of Beaux-Arts architecture in New Orleans, the Louisiana Supreme Court Building stands out among the pastel fronts and wrought-iron railings of the French Quarter. The building was completed in 1910 and housed the Louisiana Supreme Court and the Orleans Civil District Court. In 1958, the state supreme court moved to more modern quarters in the Central Business District. The building fell into disrepair, but restoration and renovation began in the 1990s. It reopened in 2004, and the Louisiana Supreme Court again took up residence, celebrating its bicentennial on March 1, 2013.
Housed in these impressive quarters, the Law Library of Louisiana is approaching its own bicentennial of providing legal information for Louisianians. Its collection of 150,000 volumes includes a comprehensive collection of Louisiana legal materials, treatises on American law, state and federal government documents, statutes and codes of all 50 states, and a concise collection of rare and special materials.
Join Library Director Georgia Chadwick for a tour of this Beaux-Arts gem.
Public Transportation: Catch the Riverfront Streetcar at the Poydras St. Station at the foot of Poydras St. in the direction of “French Market.” Get off at the Bienville St. Station. With the river behind you, exit the station and turn right on to Saint Peter St.; walk one block to Conti and turn left on to Conti. Walk five blocks on Conti to Royal St. and turn right. The Supreme Court Building, 400 Royal St., is between Conti and Saint Louis St., on the right hand side of the street.
Walking: 0.7 miles, about 14 minutes. From the hotel cross Poydras to Convention Center Blvd. Turn left at Canal then right onto North Peters St. Go three blocks to Conti and turn left. Go three blocks on Conti to Royal and turn right. 400 Royal St. is midway between Conti and Saint Louis St., on the right hand side of the street.
Orleans Parish Clerk of Civil District Court Dale N. Atkins invites conference attendees to experience a free, four-hour seminar on the nature and use of civil law land records housed at the former Notarial Archives in downtown New Orleans. The workshop will use as a case study the legal history of the building known as “Preservation Hall,” located on St. Peter Street in the French Quarter. The workshop introduces participants to the concept of evidence as found in civil law instruments, explains the features of documents that ensure authenticity, and shows how the archives of the notarial system contribute to a stable society under Louisiana’s unique civil law regime. Among procedural issues to be covered are: modern digital entry to the land records system; techniques in finding and interpreting acts; locating surveys; understanding the provenance of allied water color drawings; explanations of the relationships between registration, recordation, and archiving; the many act types; handling foreign languages (French and Spanish) in the colonial and 19th century record; the essential differences and relations between court records and land records; using finding aids; and tracking user community preferences. The seminar will be conducted by Sally Reeves, CA, Archivist, office of the Clerk of Civil District Court (contact).
To register, call 504-407-0113 or 504-407-0006 or email sreeves@orleanscdc.com. The office is on Poydras Street, one block from the Louisiana Superdome. Free transportation and light refreshments will be provided.
Tuesday, August 13, 10 a.m. and Wednesday, August 14, 10 a.m. | Maximum 10, minimum 3. Preregistration required.
Contact information (for reservations and information):
Lisa Werling, Archival Technician
504-528-1944 xt. 293, lisa.werling@nationalww2museum.org
Join us in the morning for a tour of the museum’s vault and a glimpse at the artifacts and documents stored there. After the tour, stay to visit the museum; the discounted rate for SAA meeting attendees is $2 off regular admission, $1 off senior admission. Please present badge or proof of registration for discount. The museum is open seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. More information is available at http://www.nationalww2museum.org.
Directions: The National World War II Museum is located at 945 Magazine St. in the Warehouse District of New Orleans. Tour participants should meet with their guide in the Louisiana Memorial Pavilion 5-10 minutes before the tour is scheduled to be escorted to the Collections & Exhibits Department.
Walking: From the Hilton Riverside, walk west on Poydras St. (towards the lake away from the river) and turn left onto Magazine St. Continue for several blocks until you reach the intersection of Magazine St. and Andrew Higgins Dr. Turn right for the main entrance to the museum (Louisiana Memorial Pavilion).
Parking: Paid lot across from the Solomon Victory Theater with entrances on Magazine St. and Andrew Higgins Dr.
Tuesday, August 13; 2 pm and 3 pm | Maximum 12 people preregistration required
Contact information (for reservations and information):
Alfred E. Lemmon, Director of the Williams Research Center
alfredl@hnoc.org, 504-523-4662
Join us for a tour of the Williams Research Center that will focus on our public areas and the adaption of a historic building for use as a research center. On exhibition during the conference in our Williams Gallery 533 Royal Street is Pipe Dreams: Louisiana under the French Company of the Indies, 1717-1731. The Williams Gallery is free and open to the public Tuesday-Saturday, 9:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. and Sunday 10:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. On exhibition in the Williams Research Center, 410 Chartres Street is Alternative Imprints: Jon Webb, Gypsy Lou, and the Hand-Sewn world of the Loujon Press. The research center is open Tuesday-Saturday 9:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. and is free and open to the public.
Directions: Located at 410 Chartres Street, in the French Quarter, from the hotel walk to Canal Street and walk north (towards the lake away from the river) and turn right on Chartres Street, the research center is in the fourth block just passed Conti Street on the right side.
For more information on The Historic New Orleans Collection go to www.hnoc.org.
Tuesday, August 13; 8:30 am – 4:30 pm
Enhance your knowledge of the final major battle of the War of 1812 by joining SAA’s Military Archives Roundtable (MART) on a “staff ride” to study the New Orleans Campaign (December 1814 – January 1815). Examine the Battle of New Orleans using archival sources such as letters, diaries, and maps that tell the story from individual participants’ points of view. Hear from soldiers, sailors, Marines, British military, and pirates! The New Orleans Campaign Staff Ride is a free bus tour open to all SAA members. Ride limit is 55 people.
To register and for more details, visit http://www2.archivists.org/groups/military-archives-roundtable or add your name to the list by emailing Jim Ginther at gintherja@grc.usmcu.edu.