The LIBRARY ENTRANCE IS OPEN

The Rudolph Matas Library Entrace is now OPEN! The card swipe entrance will convert to an "after hours entrance" and will only be available after the Library Service Areas are closed in the evenings.

We still have some finishing touches. The exhibit cases, some computers, the coffee machine, the artworks and some furnishings are not yet ready for prime time. That time is nearing. Come in and greet us at the new single service point.

Thanks to everyone for your patience and support during the inconveniences of the renovation.

Stay tuned for the grand opening.

Rudolph Matas Library- A change is gonna come...

This blog is designed to keep you informed of the renovation schedule for the Rudolph Matas Library. The library facility, built when 3x5 cards were cutting edge research tools, like many buildings of similar vintage, is past due for a renovation. Plans to upgrade the facility are based on Tulane's health science needs.

Unfortunately some of our facilities may be unavailable during the renovation process. The reading room, library entrance, 24/7 lab renovations will be rotated. Look for the library entrance to be moved to the mezzanine. We are sorry for the inconvenience and hope the renovation process will be complete for the Fall Semester. (Original post, 5/24/08)

History of the Rudolph Matas Library

MATAS LIBRARY RENOVATION ENTRANCES

1430 Tulane Ave. -- M-209
(OLD 24 Hour Computer Lab Entrance)
Mezzanine Hallway

24/7 Entrance, 2nd floor (Rm. 2500)
Follow the signs and look for the new glass doors!

Computers and group study areas are available on the 2nd floor, 24/7 Entrance. Card access is available after hours.

The 2nd floor Library Entrance will be unavailable during a portion of the renovation process.

Look for the Grand Opening coming soon!

Your input is welcome

Keep us posted! Let us know what we might do to make this process less intrusive. Your comments are welcome.

Bronze doors (1929): Icons from Tulane's Past

The Bronze Doors

"The bronze doors in the Matas Library were designed in 1929 by Douglas V. Freret of Favrot and Livaudais, Architects, for the main entrance to the Hutchinson Memorial Building on Tulane Avenue. They were installed in 1930 during the tenure of Dean C.C. Bass and dismantled in 1963 when the entrance was relocated to the new Burthe Cottam Building addition."

The doors were in storage for almost twenty years when they were resurrected and mounted in the library on either side of the old card catalog in honor and memory of Dean Bass in 1981. The library has a set of the blue prints for the first three floors of the Hutchinson Memorial Building which includes drawings of the bronze doors as well as the plans for the library itself.

These doors are still a centerpiece of the Matas Library and will be retained during the renovation planned in 2008.

THE BEFORE VISTA

James Doty, M.D.

James Doty, Rudolph Matas Library Benefactor
Dr. James Doty was profiled in a Wall Street Journal. (Friday, July 6, 2007), Giving Till it Hurts. Dr. Doty has donated $29 million to charity, which is about 99% of his net worth. In addition to his donations outlined in the Wall Street Journal article he has made recent donations to Tulane, a portion of which is dedicated to the renovation of the Rudolph Matas Library.Dr. Doty, a neurosurgeon in Mississippi, is a graduate of Tulane School of Medicine and fondly recalls his historic research done in the Matas Library with the assistance of Patsy Copeland, who retired in 2003.
http://tulanemataslib.blogspot.com/2007/10/james-doty-rudolph-matas-library.html

The Old Look -- Circulation and Reference Area