Campus Library System

Louisiana State University is one of 25 universities in America with both land-grant and sea-grant status. With nationally recognized academic programs and major research initiatives, the University has been designated by the Carnegie Foundation as a Doctoral/Research-Extensive institution. On-campus libraries, with 3.2 million volumes, microform holdings of more than 6.5 million, a manuscript collection of over 12 million items, and subscriptions to nearly 60,000 periodicals offer multiple research and classroom resources. LOUIS, the University’s online card catalog, provides links to the holdings in 27 library collections throughout the state. Additional regional, national and international resources, electronic networks, databases, digital images, and interlibrary loans provide the LSU community with access to millions more journals, books, and other resources from throughout the world. The library’s Special Collections holdings are particularly strong in historical, environmental, and cultural materials related to the Lower Mississippi Valley, including topics such as sugar culture and technology; agriculture; petroleum engineering; plant pathology; natural history; and various aspects of aquaculture, wetlands research, and marine biology.

The Troy H. Middleton Library, LSU’s main library, is located in the center of campus and contains the university’s centralized research collection. It is also a regional depository for governmental documents, United Nations documents, and US Patent Records. Archives, manuscripts, rare books, and special collections relating to Louisiana’s history, culture, and environment are housed in adjacent Hill Memorial Library. Of particular note in these holdings are the E. A. McIlhenny Natural History Collection, rich in ornithological and botanical art (including a double-elephant folio of nineteenth-century naturalist John James Audubon’s Birds of America), and artist Margaret Stones’ watercolor series, “Native Flora of Louisiana.”

The open-shelf arrangement of the main collection makes material completely accessible; assistance on library holdings and services is offered through Reference Services and library staff. Active involvement between staff and academic departments facilitate integration of library resources into classroom activities. On-campus collections related to landscape architecture in specific and design in general contain nearly 20,000 items including general reference and biographical works; project monographs; design critiques; journals and professional publications; project proposals and reports; governmental documents; professional manuals; construction codes, industry standards, and manufacturers’ specifications; blueprints; maps; and video cassettes, CD-ROMS (including Architectural Graphic Standards and Sweet’s Catalog), and DVDs. College of Design lectures given by guest lecturers, archived as videocassettes and DVDs, are available for classroom discussion and student research. Also archived for reference within the School are final projects created by 5th year BLA students, together with representative products of all other design studios.