State Library of Louisiana

Grants from the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana Foundation, in partnership with ConnectLA, fund new telehealth services

BATON ROUGE, La. – Eleven library systems across the state will soon offer patrons much-needed access to telehealth services thanks to $50,000 in grants from The Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana Foundation through the State Library of Louisiana.

The grants will pay for medical equipment such as fingertip pulse oximeters, portable EKG monitors, laptops and tablets, and private booths in libraries where patrons can meet virtually with their doctors.

“These grants present an opportunity to serve our citizens in additional ways,” said Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser. “This will break down barriers that many people face when it comes to their health. Time, location and money are major factors. These grants remove all of them.”

In 2022, ConnectLA worked with the Blue Cross Foundation to recognize that increasing telehealth adoption in the state required better access. The agencies identified the State Library as a unique community anchor institution and reviewed proposals and funded telehealth equipment for the library systems of Beauregard, Cameron, Concordia, East Carroll, Franklin, Ouachita, St. John the Baptist, Union, Vermillion, Washington, and West Baton Rouge parishes.

“It’s been a long time since libraries were simply a place to check out books or do research. They are community hubs where people can access services they might not otherwise be able to afford, such as high-speed internet,” said Interim State Librarian Meg Placke. “These grants are just the latest way our state’s libraries are serving their patrons, and there are few needs as important as access to healthcare.”

“Addressing healthcare challenges in rural Louisiana requires innovative partnerships inboth broadband access and adoption. In drafting the state's first five-year action plan to addressthe digital divide, we prioritizedthe healthcare access gap by increasing broadband availability for telehealth solutions,” said Veneeth Iyengar, Executive Director of ConnectLA. “This partnership is a significant first step in addressing these issues and we are proud to make this happen."

“Telehealth can be incredibly convenient and, for many patients, can be a much quicker and more comfortable way to access care that’s just as effective as an in-person visit,” said Michael Tipton, president of the Blue Cross Foundation. “Research demonstrates that when folks have access to a doctor virtually, they are more likely to access care.”

Anyone interested in using their local library’s telehealth services can find a full list of Louisiana’s public libraries with contact information on the State Library of Louisiana’s website.

BATON ROUGE, La. –The Louisiana Center for the Book in the State Library of Louisiana proudly announces New Orleans native and LSU creative writing assistant professor Maurice Carlos Ruffin as the recipient of the 24th Louisiana Writer Award.

The award is given annually by the Louisiana Center for the Book to recognize an outstanding contribution to the state's literary heritage, as shown in the writer’s body of work.

“Maurice has said the people of Louisiana – and New Orleans in particular – have inspired his work,” said Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser. “We’re delighted to honor someone who has drawn his inspiration from our state and his hometown and who has been an advocate for both during some of their most trying times.”

“Maurice is a versatile writer. Nonfiction, fiction, op-eds, book reviews, poetry – he’s done it all,” said Interim State Librarian Meg Placke. “The Louisiana Writer Award is another on a growing list of awards Maurice already has received, but we know he’s as proud of this oneas we are of him.”

“This is the highest possible honor, and I accept it on behalf of all the storytellers of New Orleans and Louisiana whose stories are yet to be received,” Ruffin said. “My long-term hope is that my work will inspire and support the next generation of young, Black New Orleans writers to tell their own stories.”

Ruffin’s primary focusis on the lived experiences and history of the diverse Black community of New Orleans where he resides. He has authored two books, "We Cast a Shadow"and "The Ones Who Don’t Say They Love You," with a third, "The American Daughters," to be publishedinearly 2024, all set in Louisiana or the South. Ruffin’s writing has also appeared in numerous print and online publications, including several anthologies.

Ruffin’s work has been recognized with several awards, including the Iowa Review Award in fiction and the William Faulkner–William Wisdom Creative Writing Competition Award for Novel-in-Progress. "The Ones Who Don’t Say They Love You," a collection of short stories, was a finalist for the Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence and longlisted for the Story Prize. It is one of two books by Louisiana authors selected to represent the state at the 2023 National Book Festival in Washington, D.C.

The Louisiana Writer Award will be presented to Ruffin during an opening ceremony of the Louisiana Book Festival on Saturday, October 28, in Baton Rouge. Visit the Louisiana Writer Award webpage for more information about Ruffin and his work.

Learn more about the 19th Louisiana Book Festival at LouisianaBookFestival.org and follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

The Louisiana Center for the Book was established in the State Library of Louisiana in 1994 to grow interest in reading, books, literacy, libraries, and to celebrate Louisiana’s rich literary heritage. It is the state affiliate of the Library of Congress Center for the Book.

"Nowhere Better Than Here" and "The Ones Who Don't Say They Love You" chosen as Louisiana Great Reads

BATON ROUGE, La.– The Louisiana Center for the Book in the State Library of Louisiana has selected one youth book and one adult book by Louisiana authors to represent the state at the 2023 National Book Festival in Washington, D.C.

• Youth book:Nowhere Better Than Hereby Sarah Guillory
• Adult book:The Ones Who Don’t Say They Love You by Maurice Carlos Ruffin

Both books will be part of the Library of Congress Center for the Book’s Roadmap to Reading at the National Book Festival. The area features Great Reads from Great Places, books that represent the literary heritage of all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and five major U.S. territories. Books may be written by authors from the state or territory, take place there, or celebrate its culture and heritage. The Louisiana selections this year meet all three criteria.
"There are few places that have a literary heritage as rich as Louisiana. And there aren’t many better places to share that heritage than at the National Book Festival,” said Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser. “Sarah Guillory and Maurice Carlos Ruffin will represent our state well, and these authors are now a part of this heritage.”

“There couldn’t be two better ambassadors for Louisiana and its literature,” said Interim State Librarian Meg Placke. “Sarah Guillory and Maurice Carlos Ruffin have a deep love of our state. Their work leaves no question about that. We’re  thrilled to share their talents with the rest of the country.”

This year’s National Book Festival is Saturday, August 12, at the Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C. While held in person, the festival includes livestreamed and recorded programs. Guillory and Ruffin will participate virtually with other authors representing their states. The discussions will be posted on the Library of Congress Great Reads from Great Places website and the Library of Congress YouTube channel. Their complete interviews with Jim Davis, executive director of the Louisiana Center for the Book, will be posted on the Louisiana Book Festival YouTube channelafter the National Book Festival concludes.

Guillory is a high school English teacher in the Baton Rouge area. Nowhere Better Than Here was named a Kirkus Reviews Best Book of 2022. It also received positive reviews from School Library Journal and Publishers Weekly.

A native New Orleanian, Ruffin is an assistant professor of creative writing at LSU. The Ones Who Don’t Say They Love You, a short story collection,was a New York Times Editor’s Choice and a finalist for the Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence.

The Louisiana Center for the Book was established in the State Library of Louisiana in 1994 and is the state affiliate of the Library of Congress Center for the Book. Its goal is to stimulate public interest in reading, books, literacy, and libraries and to celebrate Louisiana’s rich literary heritage. Follow us on Facebook for more information about the National Book Festival and the Louisiana Book Festival.

Louisiana schoolchildren in grades 3-12 select their favorite books of the year

BATON ROUGE, La. –The State Library of Louisiana is excited to announce the winners of the 2022-2023 Louisiana Readers’ Choice Awards. Louisiana’s young people have read nearly 1.4 million books and cast 438,000 votes in the 24 years since the program began.

Louisiana Young Readers’ Choice Grades 3-5:

Winner:Claude: The True Story of a White Alligator (Little Bigfoot, Penguin Random House)
written by Emma Bland Smith, illustrated by Jennifer M. Potter

Honor:Swish! The Slam-Dunking, Alley-Ooping, High-Flying Harlem Globetrotters (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, Hachette)
written by Suzanna Slade, illustrated by Don Tate

Louisiana Young Readers’ Choice Grades 6-8:

Winner:Dress Coded (G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers, Penguin Random House)
written by Carrie Firestone

Honor:Twins (Graphix, Scholastic)
written by Varian Johnson, illustrated by Shannon Wright

Louisiana Teen Readers’ Choice Grades 9-12:

Winner:Almost American Girl: An Illustrated Memoir (Balzer + Bray, HarperCollins)
written by Robin Ha

Honor:I’ll Be the One (Katherine Tegen Books, HarperCollins)
written by Lyla Lee

Winners are selected from diverse booklists carefully chosen by committees of school and public librarians across the state. Many students cast their ballots on voting machines supplied by the Secretary of State’s Voter Outreach Division.

“The Louisiana Readers’ Choice Awards is a great way to get our state’s young people interested in great reading and writing. I’m proud of our State Library for making sure this important program happens year after year,” said Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser. “This is also a great first step in our young people taking part in the democratic process. It’s a win-win.”

“The candidates for this year’s awards were all great contenders. I’m sure that voting to pick just three winners from dozens of great books wasn’t easy,” said Interim State Librarian Meg Placke. “We know these books will help young people develop a love of reading.”

An award ceremony for honored authors will be held during the Louisiana Book Festival on Saturday, October 28, 2023. For more information about the program, including previous winners, participation information, and additional resources such as free bookmarks, posters, and study guides, please visit the Louisiana Readers’ Choice Award webpage.

STATE LIBRARY OF LOUISIANA CELEBRATES CALDWELL PARISH LIBRARY EXPANSION
$1.5 million project will add much-needed space for growing collection

BATON ROUGE, La. – Officials with the Caldwell Parish Library and the State Library of Louisiana broke ground Tuesday, April 25, on a project that will greatly increase space for a facility that first opened almost 50 years ago.

When work on the addition to the Caldwell Parish Library building is done in about a year, there will be 11,822 square feet for the growing collection. Right now, the library has 7,410 square feet.

“We’re running out of space,” said Tammi Hartsfield, director of the Caldwell Parish Library. “I’ve been the librarian since November 2015 and our usage is way up, which is a good thing.”

In addition to the new construction, the existing building will be renovated. Hartsfield said only the roof and carpet have been replaced since the doors opened in 1974.

The children’s section will be expanded and the genealogy department will finally have dedicated space thanks to the project. There will also be more space for large and small meetings, which the community has asked for, Hartsfield said.

The Davis Memorial Reading Garden will also open at the library after completion of the work on the building. Named in honor of Marshall Davis who served on the library board from 1976-2016, the garden will include a StoryWalk, which displays a children’s book page by page along a walking path. The StoryWalk will feature a new book each month.

“Caldwell Parish Library has continued to work hard and provide its citizens with excellent library service,” interim State Librarian Meg Placke said during the groundbreaking ceremony. “At the State Library, we look forward to seeing the renovated library, which will continue to serve generations to come.”

“Libraries are such an important part of a community. It’s wonderful to see the public recognize their value,” said Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser. “The citizens of Caldwell Parish will love what they see when this work is done.”

Hartsfield noted that work on the expansion began during National Library Week. “The theme this year is ‘There’s More to the Story.’ And, there is more to our story. This is our next chapter.”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 28, 2023

MEG PLACKE NAMED INTERIM STATE LIBRARIAN
State Library Board of Commissioners will conduct search for permanent appointment

BATON ROUGE, La.– The State Library of Louisiana Board of Commissioners on Thursday voted 6-0 to appoint Meg Placke as interim state librarian.

Placke most recently served as deputy state librarian. She began her career at the State Library of Louisiana in 2008 and has also served as a library consultant and associate state librarian.

“Libraries play an important role in educating our children and serving our communities with helpful resources. I’m glad the board is moving forward and working on naming a permanent state librarian,” said Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser.

The Board of Commissioners will conduct a national search for a permanent state librarian. A timeline for that process has not yet been set.

Contact Information:

Veronica Mosgrove
Office of the Lieutenant Governor
225-342-7009
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

BATON ROUGE, La. – The Louisiana Center for the Book in the State Library of Louisiana and Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser will celebrate Women’s History Month with a virtual presentation featuring New Orleans native and Women’s history scholar Miki Pfeffer. The theme for the 2023 National Women’s Month “Celebrating Women Who Tell Our Stories.” The presentation profiles the Women’s Department at the World’s Industrial and Cotton Centennial Exposition in New Orleans in 1885. Viewers will learn about the popular literary section and how a special collection of books was donated to circulate among New Orleans women after the Fair. The recorded presentation will be available on YouTube and Facebook on Wednesday, March 29, 2023.

Dr. Miki Pfefferis an independent scholar who studies Women’s literary and social history, especially nineteenth- and early twentieth-century women in the South. Her books are Southern Ladies and Suffragists: Julia Ward Howe and Women’s Rights at the 1884 New Orleans World’s Fair (University Press of Mississippi, 2014) and A New Orleans Author in Mark Twain’s Court: Letters from Grace King’s New England Sojourns (Louisiana State University Press, 2019).

Pfeffer has written on these subjects for scholarly journals and for collections of essays and has presented at scholarly conferences and to various local groups and Mark Twain venues. She earned an MA in English Literature and a Ph. D. in Urban History, both from the University of New Orleans. She continues to transcribe all correspondence in the Grace King Papers and is currently investigating the career of Ruth McEnery Stuart, who wrote in the same era.

Southern Ladies and Suffragists: Julia Ward Howe and Women’s Rights at the 1884 New Orleans World’s Fairis available for purchase through Cavalier House Books, the Louisiana Book Festival’s bookseller. Use code WHM2023 for a 20% discount at checkout.

The Louisiana Center for the Book, established in the State Library of Louisiana in 1994 for the purpose of stimulating public interest in reading, books, literacy, and libraries and celebrating Louisiana’s rich literary heritage, is the state affiliate of the Library of Congress Center for the Book. For more information, please visit www.LouisianaBookFestival.organd follow us on Facebook.