Vision Statement

The vision of LSUS Northwest Louisiana Archives is to be the instrument of regional historical and institutional memory, to be an active participant in furthering the institutional mission and knowledge of the history of northwest Louisiana and the Red River region, and to continuously provide unexpected learning opportunities for all constituencies of LSUS.

Mission Statement

The mission of LSUS Northwest Louisiana Archives is to collect, preserve, and make accessible to interested users and researchers the papers, records and other materials of persons, groups and organizations significant to the history of Northwest Louisiana and the Red River region, and to provide for the orderly retention and disposition of all University records.

History

The LSUS Northwest Louisiana Archives was created in 1974 through the efforts of Dr, John Hall, Chairman of the Social Studies Department, Malcolm Parker, Library Director, and Hubert Humphreys, Assistant Professor of History. Their aim was to document and preserve area history, particularly the history of northwest Louisiana. In 1975, LSUS hired Patricia Meador as the first archivist.

Starting with just two collections and relying on community support, Ms. Meador built a program that today features over 600 archival collections, 300 manuscript collections, and 150 oral histories and continues to grow.

In 1994 the Archives moved from its location on the second floor of the original library building to the attractive and spacious quarters it now occupies on the third floor of the new Noel Memorial Library. Staffed by four full-time employees and a part-time volunteer, LSUS Northwest Louisiana Archives acts as the instrument of the university’s institutional memory and assists visitors from all over the United States and abroad with research about the Red River, steam boating, plantation life, business and industry, society and culture, education, politics, architecture, and the natural environment of the Ark-La-Tex area from 1830 to the present day.

Collection Development Policy Statement

Meet the Archives Staff

	Laura L. McLemore, Ph.D. CA, Curator and head Archivist at LSU-Shreveport, graduated from Byrd High School in Shreveport, received her bachelor’s degree at Southern Methodist University, her master’s at Texas A&M-Commerce, and her PhD. at the University of North Texas. She joined the Academy of Certified Archivists in 1991. She is a member of Louisiana Archives and Manuscripts Association, Society of Southwest Archivists, Society of American Archivists, Academy of Certified Archivists, North Louisiana Historical Association, Texas State Historical Association, and currently serves on the Louisiana Historical Association board of directors. She has published several articles, reviews, and a book relating to Southwestern history and historiography, Inventing Texas: Early Historians of the Lone Star State.
	Domenica B. Carriere, Archival Associate. A native of Bay Saint Louis, Mississippi, she graduated from Saint Joseph’s Academy; received a Bachelor of Science from Loyola University in New Orleans; a Master of Education from Louisiana State University in Shreveport; and a Master of Pastoral Studies from Loyola University in New Orleans. She taught in private and public schools prior to accepting her current position as an Archival Associate in 1992.
	Fermand Garlington, Archival Associate, is a lifetime resident of Shreveport, He graduated from Caddo Magnet High School in 1991; Louisiana State University in Shreveport in 1995 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in History; and the University of Houston in 1998 with a Master of Arts degree in History. He was a Research Assistant at the University of Houston from 1995-1997. Since then, he has taught at LSUS as an Adjunct Instructor of History from 1998-1999; as Circulation Desk Manager and Interlibrary Loan Director from 1999-2005; and, since 2005, as University Records Manager and Archival Associate.
	Dave Bland, Project Archivist, has been volunteering in the LSUS Northwest Louisiana Archives since 2002 and is currently working part-time as the Project Assistant on the Shreveport Times negative preservation project. He has previously processed several major collections including the J. Frank McAneny Photographic Collection and the Menasco Studio Photograph Collection. His special interest is in railroads, and he has prepared a Guide to Railroad Related Material in the LSUS Northwest Louisiana Archives to assist researchers. Dave graduated from Northwestern State University in 1963 and retired in 1999 after a career in information technology at NASA, IBM and BASF.