More than two and a half years after Tulane University’s library was flooded with eight feet of water in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, a recovery team has begun returning 210,000 salvaged items to its shelves, it was announced last week.
The basement of Tulane’s Howard-Tilton Memorial Library, an area nearly the size of a football field, housed a music library and a large collection of government documents, newspapers, and microforms. The building that houses the university’s special collections was under four feet of water.
The recovery effort, which also includes cataloging more than 100,000 donated and replacement items, is being led by the Library Associates Companies, a consulting group that helps libraries with cataloging and other projects. —Katherine Mangan
