Tulane University Special Collections (TUSC) documents the history, culture, and communities of New Orleans and the surrounding region by working with our community to preserve and provide access to rare and unique materials. Our collections and services support research, teaching, and learning for Tulanians, New Orleanians, and a global research community. 

Documenting the complexity and richness of New Orleans and the surrounding region, past and present, is a foundational tenet of our collecting program. Our collecting priorities and appraisal and selection decisions are informed by principles that reflect our commitment to responsible stewardship, an ethics-based practice, and cultivating relationships. We acquire collections that: 

• Document subjects and topics that align with and advance our mission as a research institution
• Support our efforts to build a cohesive body of records that enable deep, advanced research
• Are rare or unique, with a clear provenance that allows for legal transfer to our care
• Enhance our existing collecting strengths and advance new and emerging collecting priorities
• Present few access restrictions unless legally warranted, time-limited, or culturally appropriate
• Are in a condition that allows for proper storage and use
• Are within our resource capacity to store, process, and provide access to for the long term
• Offer opportunities to collaborate with other institutions without duplicating efforts
• Reflect a respectful, sustainable, and equitable collaboration with creators and creator communities

We primarily acquire materials by donation or by transfer from Tulane University offices and affiliates. On rare occasions, we purchase materials from dealers or private collectors. If you have materials that you would like to donate, please contact us at specialcollections@tulane.edu.

We are actively seeking materials that address the following topics: 

• Local and regional music and musical cultures. Priorities include ragtime, gospel, blues, rhythm and blues, and Creole songs; hip hop and bounce; funk; New Orleans music and music artists of the late 20th century to present; contemporary jazz artists and events of New Orleans from the 1960s to 1990s; brass bands; alternative music scenes such as DJ culture; New Orleans Black Masking Indians and Mardi Gras Indians; sheet music representing Black composers; the music, music making, and musical cultures of people of color, including but not limited to African Americans and Latin Americans; female and female-identified artists; and music clubs, lounges, venues, and local radio stations.
• Book history and print cultures. Priorities include print culture materials related to authors, readers, printers, publishers, bookmakers and collectors from local, regional, historically underrepresented communities; local and regional zines and independent presses; books about cats and dogs; artifacts of book production; artists books, fine press, book arts, and book collections that complement existing holdings in book history (fine bindings); architecture and scientific illustration; gothic, fantasy, sci-fi, and horror literature; and natural history materials that further enhance the strengths of the Koch Botanical Library and the Garden Library, including works by women scientists and illustrators.
• Southern literature. Priorities include regional writers from the twentieth century to present with an emphasis on gothic and horror genre writers.
• Politics and social movements. Priorities include civil rights and activist groups; local and state politicians’ records; and the records of civic organizations.
• Humans and environmental impact. Priorities include the role of the natural and built environment in underserved communities; local and regional effects of climate change; race and environmental justice; environmental advocacy; and diaspora of New Orleans communities post-Katrina and other disasters.
• Architecture and the built environment. Priorities include historic preservation issues and concerns; architects from underrepresented communities; architectural developments from late 20th century to present; sustainable urbanism; and the impacts of gentrification.
• Regional religious communities and spiritual practices. Priorities include Black Catholic cultural traditions; synagogues; voodoo; mourning and funeral traditions; and botánicas.
• Communities that share a common identity, background, or interest and have an active or historical influence on New Orleans culture. Priorities include gender and sexuality affinity groups; contemporary Carnival krewes; social aid and pleasure clubs; underground, alternative, and independent artist groups; documentation of contemporary immigrant experiences and local racial and ethnic experiences; and regional and local foodways.
• Tulane University institutional records, student life and culture, and university history. Priorities include the records of campus offices and initiatives, with an emphasis on those established since 2000; records of staff and student organizations; documentation of past and current student activities; and of underrepresented communities at Tulane.

We accept materials in digital and physical formats, including diaries, journals, correspondence, records of organizations, ephemera, photographs, audiovisual materials, and rare and unique printed materials.

• Commercial publications in any format
• Duplicates or facsimiles of materials
• Objects and works of art
• Academic research files
• Current or active records
• Faculty papers, with rare exceptions
• Old copies of Jambalaya yearbooks, with a few exceptions
• Student scholarship
• Music instruments and equipment

TUSC does not collect physical copies of theses and dissertations. To submit electronic theses and dissertations, review the procedures detailed in the Theses and Dissertations Library Guide.

• Access policies 

To discuss potential donations or records transfers, or to inquire about our collections, please contact the director or the appropriate curator: 

Jillian Cuellar, Director1, (504) 247-1873, jcuellar1@tulane.edu

Ann Case, University Archivist, (504) 314-7821, acase@tulane.edu

Agnieszka Czeblakow, Curator of Rare Books, (504) 865-5608, aczeblakow@tulane.edu

Leon Miller, Curator of the Louisiana Research Collection, (504) 314-7833, lmiller@tulane.edu

Melissa A. Weber, Curator of the Hogan Archive of New Orleans Music and New Orleans Jazz, (504) 247-1807, mweber3@tulane.edu

Created April 2026; reviewed every 3 years