The Noel Collection was the life's work of Mr. James Smith Noel. It is the largest private collection of antiquarian books in the United States and is currently on permanent loan to Louisiana State University Shreveport. The books are still being explored--the majority are uncataloged and thus somewhat unknown, but they are believed to number between 200,000 and 250,000 volumes.

The collection encompasses 100+ different subject areas in such diverse fields as religion, travel literature, philosophy, science, cartography, natural history, moral instruction, curiosities, costumery, and the history of humor. Our collection is particularly strong in pre-1850 European and American literature and history. 

We are a working collection. Our stacks are open to the public, although our materials do not circulate. Visitors are encouraged during regular business hours to use both our materials and our facilities. We are able to accommodate interlibrary loan requests of a reasonable size through the creation of .PDF copies--please confer with us if you have any concerns in this area.