Noel Collection

05/27/2026

Happy World Otter Day!!

Books used: American Animals: A Popular Guide to the Mammals of North America, North of Mexico.

The Audobon Nature Encyclopedia

05/06/2026

Recently LA64, one of the PBS programs, came to Shreveport and prepared a lovely report about the city and the Caddo parish. We are featured in it starting at 14:33.

The journey continues through immersive museums, living history sites, and the scenic outdoors.

04/21/2026

Happy National Library Workers Day!

Thank you to all librarians! Thank you to all the individuals who work in the background and the people who interface with the public.

Thank you to the Social Media Managers, the Research/Reference Librarians, Access Services/Circulation, Admin, Children’s/Youth Librarians, Adult Librarians, MWR Military Librarians, Law Librarians, Health Sciences Librarians and everyone else!

04/13/2026

Come see the Noel Collection, the .archives, and the .memoriallibrary at the 2026 Spring Fling out on the Mall!

We will be there from 10am to 1pm on Friday, April 17th, 2026.

03/15/2026

We have two of these -- one about the American Revolution and the other about the Civil War -- although ours is slightly different. They also include small child-sized tickets to "sell" for the performance and a small poster to advertise the show.

In 1866, Milton Bradley, the American game pioneer and publisher whose company would later bring us The Game of Life, Candy Land, Hungry Hungry Hippos, Yahtzee, and Battleship, produced one of his very first toys: a miniature, candlelit newsreel of the US Civil War. This toy panorama contains 22 printed and hand-painted scenes on a scroll, all housed in a small box designed like a stage proscenium.

Place it in a darkened room, light it from behind with a candle, and turn the metal key to make the scenes move. Read the accompanying booklet at the same time, and you’ve got a flickering, immersive Civil War “broadcast” from 150 years ago.

____
The Myriopticon: A Historical Panorama of the Rebellion, Springfield, MA: published by Milton Bradley & Co., [1866]. Gift of Julia P. Wightman, 1991
The Morgan Library & Museum, PML 88477
Photography by Janny Chiu
[Morgan library and museum, Civil war artifact, Milton bradley, History of toys, Visual culture, 19th century art, Museum collection, Rare books]

03/12/2026

We have a new exhibit on display:

Ephemera: Remnants of Society
March 2, 2026 – May 29, 2026
James Smith Noel Collection
3rd floor Noel Memorial Library, LSUS (on Youree)

Ephemera are items meant to be used temporarily and then usually thrown away, such as cards, advertisements, ticket stubs, etc. As we catalog the Noel Collection, we often find these items tucked away in the books for safe keeping – and then forgotten. Now they can be seen again and the pleasure they once gave experienced anew. We have a selection of them on display along with the books in which they were found. Come and experience our delighted discovery of these remnants of the past.

We’re open Mondays - Fridays from 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. For more information or to arrange a tour contact Martha Lawler at 318-798-4163 or [email protected], or visit us online at jsnoelcollection.org.

03/03/2026

Come see the Noel Collection’s books on Labor Unions and the Labor Movement in the United States and then stop to see the NWLA Archives exhibit on “The Right to Work” directly out in the hallway!

02/11/2026

Be spooky all year round and come take a look at our book, “The Egyptian Book of the Dead”!

If you have watched or grew up with the 1999 movie version of “The Mummy”, you will love this book.

01/27/2026

The Noel Collection will be closed through tomorrow. We plan to open on Thursday, January 29 at 8:00 a.m. (fingers crossed...) Take care and stay safe!

⚠️ UPDATE: The LSUS campus will remain closed Wednesday out of an abundance of caution.

The time required to clear campus roads and walkways of ice has been greater than anticipated. 🚗 We expect campus to reopen Thursday morning at our normal time.

In-person and online classes will continue through online instruction. Please continue to communicate with your professors as needed.

01/23/2026

The Noel Collection, the .memoriallibrary
and .louisiana.archives will be closed on Monday, January 26, 2026, due to inclement weather.