Tulane University's
Louisiana Research Collection

Tulane University’s Louisiana Research Collection is pleased to announce that the Joel Fletcher papers are now open to the public. Joel Fletcher, author of the book Ken and Thelma , donated his papers to Tulane University in 2006. Joel Fletcher was a friend of John Kennedy Toole, author of A Confederacy of Dunces and Thelma Ducoing Toole, John’s mother. The papers consist of Joel Fletcher’s research files for Ken and Thelma , a book about his friendship with Ken and Thelma Toole, and how A Confederacy of Dunces came to be published. The collection contains correspondence, drafts, reviews, and supporting materials. The collection contains criticism on previous biographies of John Kennedy Toole, and Fletcher’s letters with Thelma Ducoing Toole, New Orleans author Poppy Z. Brite, University of New Orleans professor Kenneth Holditch, and friends of the Toole family. The Louisiana Research Collection at Tulane University’s Special Collections Library also has the papers o...

Howard-Tilton Memorial Library will host and co-sponsor a two-day Society of American Archivists workshop, Understanding Photographs, Introduction to Archival Principles and Practices. This will be held Nov. 5-6, 2009. From the workshop description: While photographs are some of the most versatile and heavily-used resources in archives, many professionals lack any specialized training in how to deal with them effectively. This introductory workshop teaches the basics of how to manage and care for photographs. You will discover how standard archival techniques can be applied successfully to photographs in eight modules: appraising and acquiring; reading and researching; identification and handling; preservation, storage and housing; accessioning and arrangement; description and cataloging; copying; and public service and outreach . Leon C. Miller, Head of LaRC, has made arrangements for us to host this workshop and another one early in 2010 on Encoded Archival Description. Please note t...

Every summer, we are fortunate to have several student workers on board with us. This summer, we also had two interns. Our student workers and interns are some of our greatest assets, and much of the work we do would not happen without their dedication (and willingness to humor our staff). We'd like to highlight some of their work as the fall semester begins. Caity Mellicant is a graduate student of linguistics. Her areas of interest are currently bilingualism and language contact with a focus on East Asian languages. Caity has been a student worker at Special Collections for a few years. This summer, she scanned several volumes of the Favrot family paper transcriptions for digitization. Kevin Fontenot is a PhD candidate finishing his dissertation, a biography on former Governor Jimmie Davis. This summer, Kevin processed the papers of Tulane professor Karlem "Ducky" Riess, author Joel Fletcher, and some letters from Confederate General P.G.T. Beauregard. Kevin has...