Technical Services
The Technical Services Department is one of two academic units in the University Libraries; the other is Public Services.
Technical Services encompasses the following areas:
Each of these areas supports the research and educational needs of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette community by selecting, purchasing, describing, and organizing library materials and by providing web and technology support services.
Collection Development
Collection Development denotes the activities that ensure that the University Libraries include in their collections the books, periodicals, and other appropriate library materials to support the institutional and research programs of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and provide access to them. Funds are allocated by type of material (book, periodical, microforms, electronic resource, etc.), and by academic subject area. Collection Development also encompasses associated activities such as evaluation, location, weeding, and preservation.
More information is under Collection Development Policies & Procedures.
E-Resources & Serials
The E-Resources & Serials Department coordinates the purchasing, licensing, and access of electronic resources and print serial publications, including trials, quotes, new orders, annual academic department subscriptions review, renewals, cancellations, collecting and analyzing usage data, and troubleshooting. The staff assists with the implementation and ongoing administration of the library’s electronic resource management module; maintains catalog records, an A-Z list, an OpenURL link resolver, and other utilities; communicates with vendors and providers regarding the library’s print and electronic subscriptions; and assists with the continuing commitments portions of the library’s acquisitions budget.
More information is under Collection Development Policies & Procedures.
Cataloging
The mission of the Catalog Department is to support the teaching, research, and service mission of Dupré Library and the University by providing bibliographic access to the collections housed in the library and its branches.
More information is under Cataloging Policy.
Library Systems
The purpose of the Library Systems Department is to support the needs of each library department and to provide services through electronic resources to library users. This is accomplished through the coordination of technological knowledge and expertise within the library and with the larger university community in fulfillment of the library's mission to provide access to information resources in all formats. The department maintains the availability and integrity of library information systems, coordinates the computing equipment and software planning and deployment in the library, and liaises with campus IT departments. By working with library departments and committees, the department facilitates access to online library resources, including the Dupré Library Catalog, its Research Databases, Website, Research Guides, and other web applications.
More information is under Library Systems Policies & Procedures.
Find Technology in the Library.
Special Collections
The Special Collections Department brings together a wide variety of materials representing the south and southwest Louisiana experience. Special Collections supports research for undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, and other scholars whose work relies on archival records, rare books, manuscripts, media, digital files, and other primary sources.
More information is under Special Collections, Special Collection Policy, and Jefferson Caffery Reading Room User Policy.
Special Collections includes the following:
Cajun & Creole Music Collection
The Cajun and Creole Music Collection consists of commercial recordings, selected unpublished or field recordings, and related materials of the music of the Cajuns and Creoles of Louisiana. The collection presents the history, influences, development, and diversity of indigenous music.
Louisiana Room
The Louisiana Room contains a collection of materials relating to Louisiana and the University. Resources include books, newspaper collections, graduate and undergraduate theses, genealogy, University yearbooks, and course catalogs, maps, Louisiana state documents, and vertical files.
University Archives & Acadiana Manuscripts Collection
The University Archives houses the archival records of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette from its inception to the present. The Acadiana Manuscripts Collection contains collections of personal or family papers, business or organizational records, photograph collections, oral histories, and much more related to the Acadiana region and south and southwest Louisiana. Also included is the University’s Rare Books and Microfilm collections.
U.S. Government Information
As a designated Federal Depository Library, Edith Garland Dupré Library provides free access to government information. Government publications provide current and historical information on a wide range of subjects and include primary and secondary research and information sources.
Digital Archives
The Digital Archives includes digitized collections of the Acadiana Manuscripts Collection and those donated to Special Collections. These collections include digitized and born-digital materials.
For more information on the library's policies on digitization, view the Digitization and Photoduplication Policy.
UL Lafayette Institutional Repository
UL Lafayette's Institutional Repository (IR) is an online space that brings together and provides open access to the University's scholarship and intellectual content. The repository accepts scholarship in a wide variety of formats, including PDF documents, audio/video, and images. Scholarship includes research articles, class projects, presentations, digital collections, and much more.
Affiliations
Special Collections is closely aligned with the following:
The Blanco Public Policy Center is an independent, interdisciplinary research center, bringing together experts from different academic departments to conduct research, analyze data, create white papers, and write grants. A partnership between the College of Liberal Arts and Edith Garland Dupré Library, the Blanco Center will work primarily in the public policy areas championed by Governor Kathleen Babineaux during her 25-year career in state government. These issues included governmental ethics, criminal justice reform, poverty, and economic opportunity, and education.
The Ernest J. Gaines Center at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette is an independent, international center for scholarship on Ernest Gaines and his work. The center honors the work of the University's Writer-in-Residence Emeritus and provides a space for scholars and students to work with the Gaines papers and manuscripts.
Contact
Zachary Stein, Ed.D. | Associate Professor and Assistant Dean of Technical Services
(337) 482-6427 | zachary.stein@louisiana.edu