LJ To Repair NOPL Branch

Library Journal is taking the lead, in tandem with architect Jeffrey Scherer (Meyer, Scherer & Rockcastle) and the New Orleans Public Library (NOPL), for the restoration of the Katrina-devastated Alvar Street Branch. The library suffered wall-to-wall damage, destroying its entire collection. The site was chosen owing to its structural integrity and its location in a recovering neighborhood known for its history and demographic diversity. Alvar also lost all interior furnishings and technology equipment. Residents of the Bywater district and nearby Holy Cross neighborhood (both in the city’s Ninth Ward) were on hand for a meeting with LJ Editor-in-Chief Francine Fialkoff, publisher Ron Shank, and NOPL officials to express their desire for the return of their cherished library. The Alvar Street Branch will serve a larger swath of the city when reopened.

The “makeover” will stand as a cultural beacon and economic engine to rebuild and resettle this area of the city. As now planned, the project will be privately funded and supplied. In order to restore service to the neighborhood as soon as possible, the NOPL Foundation has begun an intensive campaign to raise funds for necessary building repairs. There will be a grand reopening celebration during the American Library Association conference in late June. LJ will cover the project in the magazine, on our web site, and in our e-newsletters and Library Hotline, culminating in a feature in the fall edition of LJ’s Library by Design. The scope of the design and the resulting “needs” list of furnishings, equipment, and collection items will be available shortly. LJ invites concerned and motivated vendors to join in this worthy work.