Howard-Tilton Memorial Library's lowest level houses 10 large classrooms for general use.

It also contains Tulane’s Center for Engaged Learning and Teaching (CELT), the Goldman Center for Student Accessibility, and the Academic Learning & Tutoring Center. The entrance level features a Learning Commons with group seating and a coffee shop. The second and third floors offer study areas, graduate student spaces, and a Knowledge Lab with subject specialist librarians, as well as an Innovative Learning Center and classrooms. The fourth floor includes the Latin American Library and the Phyllis M. Taylor Center for Social Innovation and Design Thinking.

New upper floors added in 2016 provide more study spaces, classrooms, and Media Services with check-out services. An open atrium on the new floors is used for events and offers city views. Howard-Tilton Memorial Library is the largest research library in the Gulf South region.