The Howard-Tilton Memorial Library is a private library with public access whose primary mission is to serve the students, faculty and staff of Tulane University. Recognizing its value to the greater New Orleans community and its unique resources of broader interest, the library welcomes visitors and special borrowers, expecting them to have used their own school, public, or academic libraries first. A full version of the Public Access Policy can be found here.
For the spring 2025 semester, all non-Tulane affiliates should bring a current school ID (such as a student or faculty ID from their home institution) or some other form of valid identification (such as a driver's license) to show at the entrance to the Howard-Tilton building. After 7:00 pm, only Tulane affiliates will be allowed access to the building.
Otherwise, public users may browse the collection, use the materials in the building, make use of our restrooms and student snack area, and use the library's copiers and printers. Moreover, Howard-Tilton Memorial Library is a congressionally designated depository for U.S. Government Documents, and the library maintains these documents acquired through the Federal Government Printing Office for public use.
Students and faculty at neighboring colleges and universities may borrow books from Howard Tilton's general collections through longstanding reciprocal borrowing agreements organized through LOUIS, the Louisiana Library Network Consortium, of which Tulane is a member. Visiting users must obtain a LOUIS (or TU/LU) Borrowing Card issued by their home library and, if asked, provide a picture ID onsite to verify they are the cardholder. See this page for more information on using Tulane University Libraries as a visitor from a neighboring college or university.
Public users may access the library’s catalog, databases, and digital resources onsite from more than a dozen workstations labeled Look It Up, located throughout the Howard-Tilton building. Wi-fi access is limited to Tulane students, faculty, or staff and visiting researchers with Tulane affiliation only and is not available to the general public.
Tulane alumni may request an Alumni Card from the Tulane Alumni Association through a form located here. The card is free and enables alumni to borrow books from the library. It does not provide for services and privileges such as interlibrary loans, document delivery, or off-campus access to research databases.
Database Access: Alumni and public users may access the library’s databases onsite from workstations labeled Look It Up, which are located throughout the Howard-Tilton building. However, licensing agreements with database providers and publishers limit remote access outside the library building to just current Tulane faculty, students, and staff. This helps preserve the marketplace for published, copyrighted content in an internet environment.
Some other groups of non-Tulane affiliates also may obtain borrowing privileges at the library. These include Loyola faculty and students, members of LOUIS and CALL libraries, members of the OCLC Reciprocal Borrowing Program, special visiting faculty and scholars, and subscribers. Details on the borrowing privileges for these groups may be found here. A Subscriber Card is available for members of the public to borrow from Howard-Tilton only and cannot be used to access online databases off-campus. Inquire at the library's Check Out Desk.
Teachers and librarians interested in bringing high school students to Tulane University Libraries can contact the Scholarly Engagement Department at scholarlyengagement@tulane.edu. Minors under the age of 14 must be accompanied by an adult to enter the building. A full version of the Public Access Policy can be found here.
Public users cannot request materials from the Howard-Tilton stacks or the Matas library using the Request feature in library catalog, which requires a login for the feature to be active. However, materials held at our Offsite Depository may be requested, using this form. Requested materials will generally be available the next day, and can be used in the library only. If the materials are needed more than one day, please contact the Check-Out Desk to make special arrangements.