Milton H Latter Branch New Orleans Public Library

Absolutely beautiful public library found in uptown. Very old fashion looking and fits the area very well.
Library is pretty quiet and has a good variety of books. Only negative is that I wish they had more individual desks. Also the AC is always blasting so bring a sweater because its freezing in there.

If you are a student of any kind in the uptown area, you should know about this place! Milton Latter makes my top places to study in New Orleans. Keep in mind, this beautiful building is limited in space, seating areas, and even books but what makes this library my most sought out destination when it comes to studying is the decent wifi, friendliness of staff, and peace and quiet of library space!

My son was looking for a specific book on the Cold War and Sub-​Saharan Africa for a school project, and I thought it was going to be quite an ordeal to find. I spoke with Amanda who was hugely helpful, very knowledgeable, and so courteous… I was beside myself as I’m not used to such incredible customer service on any level, much less a public library! Kudos to her and to the people who manage this library. Latter Library may not carry a lot of titles, but they can get what you need within a few days, and just going into this beautiful old building alone is a treat.

This is probably the nicest looking library in the entire New Orleans Public library system. The book selection isn’t the largest but they do often have book sales in the carriage house behind the main building. There sadly doesn’t seem to be much of the original house interior left but those rooms that still have the original features intact are impressive. This is certainly an interesting place to investigate and great place to find some awesome deals on some very interesting books during their sales.

not the best or widest selection of books and DVDs but it is better than nothing… what is pretty awesome is their bi-​weekly used book sale from 10a-​2p on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

Full disclosure: I work in library-​land. I am not a public librarian, but I do think about libraries a lot.
Latter Library has a lot of great things going for it — excellent location, nice visible perch, pretty exterior. That said, a lot of the drawbacks about the NOPL system in general are evident inside the branch, mainly in terms of collections and building maintenance.
Staff: Mostly great with some snarly bad apples. Luckily I haven’t seen some of the snarlies in a long time, so either they’ve been phased out or I’ve had the good fortune to avoid them for ages.
Collections:
*Magazines: This is an NOPL criticism, not a Latter one, but it really annoys me to no end that you can’t check out magazines. In my hometown library system, you could do this with all the non-​current magazines, and it saved me a ton of money on magazine subscriptions. There is a «take 1 leave 1» magazine box where I leave a ton of my now-​subscried to and read old magazines, but sadly there’s not much I like to pick up (maybe when I retire and take up golfing that will change)
*Adult Fiction: Weird selection. I can find some classic authors, and not others. Seems like many of the old copies of old titles are rarely replaced, so the only new copies are of new releases. This is probably an NOPL thing.
*Adult Non-​fiction: I swear I cannot figure out why certain things go on the new releases shelf for AGES and yet sometimes I find new things on the regular shelves. Travel and cookbook sections are pretty decent for a small library
*Music and media: I’ve gotten CDs and DVDs from here in the past. No complaints.
*Children’s area: I don’t have any kiddos in my life right now, so I have no opinions on this, but the room looks super fun
Building Interior:
*Bathroom: There’s only one that I can find. I don’t think this is enough.
*General upkeep: Oh, so sad. The floor in front of the front desk is totally unfinished, and it’s not a great impression when you walk in. In the past, Latter has had major HVAC problems and has had to close during the summer before, hopefully this won’t happen again. The stairs going up have worn carpeting being held down by duct tape.
I’ve heard that Latter has the highest circulation numbers of any NOPL location. I really think it’s a bummer that NOPL has not made more visible changes to improve Latter. To be fair, libraries in general are (scandalously) under-​funded and major targets in a highly political atmosphere for cuts, so this is probably very easy for me to demand, and very difficult for NOPL to actually do.
Other:
*Meeting room: Great. I have been to many meetings in this room, and I love the old-​timey wood paneling. I also dig that little windowed room off to the side, seems like a wonderful place to study.
*Wifi: It’s functional. If you don’t have a library account, using it as a guest is pretty easy.
*Programming: I haven’t participated in much of the library’s programming, but it seems like they have some great things to offer.
*GUINEA PIGS: They are adorable. Nuff said.

This is a beautiful library! The librarians were helpful. The restrooms were clean, but very scary looking (the one that I went into). We were driving around when we were visiting New Orleans and we stopped by because the building was just that beautiful. I really can’t capture how majestic the library was, so I guess you will just have to stop by and see for yourself.

Beautiful building on the outside. Quite rundown on the inside. Needed a place to work. There were no traditional reading rooms with desk lamps but there were a couple of parlors. One had nice plush chairs with large wooden tables and plantation shutters. Not too dark for work and you have a view of the streetcars rumbling past. Free wifi a big plus. Restrooms were nice and clean.

One of my fondest childhood memories is the trips to Latter Library on St. Charles in Uptown, New Orleans. Whether riding my bike or walking, I always left with more books than I could handle!
I would loose myself in the books and in the house itself, definitely like stepping back in time to an era I would have loved to live in. If my dad was picking my up from the library, I would sit outside on the sprawling porch and pretend it was my house and I was waiting for my dad to get home from work, Or walk in the yard, under those trees and just pretend again it was my personal park, while listening for the sounds of the St. Charles streetcar zipping by. My friends and I would scare each other about the ghosts that had to hang around in the library, each of us claiming every time we went, that we «saw» or «heard» something.
The winding staircase to the upstairs sections is my favorite. I always take my time and walk slowly on that staircase, imagining all the people that have walked there before me. As a child of course, the children’s sections is one of the best, with many selections for kids who are just beginning to read, or researching for a science fair project. The sitting rooms at the very front allow you to sit, read, relax, and again loose yourself in the elegance of the house itself. I would not get much reading done, often drifting in and out of my antebellum fantasies.
Having this library in my childhood probably solidified my eternal love for reading, writing, and history. It was always a first choice for my special treat for the day. Yes, I was the kid who loved going to the library.
I have taken my older children there years ago, but not living in New Orleans at that time, they did not get to appreciate it the way I did. I made my first trip back yesterday with my 4 yr old twin girls and they loved it. I could see their eyes swimming in the seas of books in the Children’s sections and the fact they had their own place to sit, and chill just about blew their minds.
Best thing about the New Orleans Library System is they offer FREE library cards to members of surrounding parishes as well, including, St. Tammany, Jefferson, St. Bernard, and Plaquemines. Last I checked, Jefferson Parish charged outside residents a $ 50.00 fee for one. So the fact that Orleans offers a free access card to neighboring parishes should definitely be celebrated.
This is a longer post than I would normally write, but our community deserves to have a place like this and it is up to us to help maintain, preserve, and share the wonderful culture that surrounds this city.
Also, there is a drive going on now to help re-​stock New Orleans Recovery Schools and there personal libraries since the losses suffered in Hurricane Katrina and I am proudly standing behind that cause.
Go to:
for more information on how to help with that. I believe the drive ends on May 15^th, so please check it out if you can help support the New Orleans Recovery Schools Libraries!

This building is way across town from my home, so I don’t properly utilize the actual library facility, and so, I can’t honestly review the library aspect.
What I do love about this building is the architecture! I love to take friends on a city tour and while showing off all of the big beautiful buildings on St. Charles Ave, I pull over here and let them see what one of the more grand homes on the Avenue looks like on the inside.
I’m sure the library is great too.

This place is my library mecca here in New Orleans! Every time I enter, it feels as though I’ve stepped into a fancy plantation, frozen in time, stuffed to the brim with books. I loved the fact that it was sort of falling apart, it gave the place a mysterious haunted feel.
In the summertime, on my days off, I can take the streetcar there. With an apple and blanket in my bag, I check out some big fat Historical Fiction book, flop down on the extensive hilly grass that surrounds this fancy library, and read for hours.
If it’s cold out, or if they’re doing construction on the library (as has been the case for the past 6 months), you can choose one of a few «parlors» to sit in. Velvet, ornate chairs, pulled up to a heavy gilded oak tables, sit beneath giant crystal chandeliers! I ask you, how many libraries do you know that can brag this kind of work setting?
Once, by my complete surprise, they had a gumbo cook-​off right there on the steps! They do a lot of fun kids’ activities here too, they have a small kids’ area sun room, lined with giant windows, and piled high with bean bag chairs! So your rambunctious child (or the one you nanny for, in my case) who probably won’t sit still for more than two books at a time, can have a go at wrestling and stacking the giant bean bags! It’s brilliant.
However, due to the fact that I frequent this library branch the most, I have pretty much read most of the novels in the fiction section that appeal to my taste. Most of the categorized sections are unfortunately fairly small in order to fit so many books into what used to be a house. This can be remedied by attending one of their book sales on Wednesdays & Saturdays. But then my house can tend to fill up fairly quickly with that many novels and can easily begin to resemble the library! …Without all the history and fancy furniture of course.

I will let you in on a secret about me… I am a librarian, so I love libraries. Latter is an interesting building. Because it was once a private home, it doesn’t really make a great library. The collection ends up very chopped up and it takes awhile to figure out where everything is. That said it is a beautiful building. The family who donated it lost their only child in one of the World Wars. Which is a beautiful way to remember a lost son, but the city has NEVER had the money to keep the building up. It has beautiful grounds around the building taking up almost a ½ city block. Bonus points for the book sale that takes place out of the garage every Saturday.

The library of libraries consuming a city block, facing the streetcar line, and a true landmark that once was the Latter family home (I think). It’s a gorgeous piece of architecture that is showing some wear, however its interior has so many original details and frankly hasn’t been boogered up or bastardized.
As a service their hours are spaced out nicely, the staff is always friendly, there’s the internet, they have what used to be periodic (but I think are now weekly) book sales, constantly updated periodicals, regular storytime hours, AND they have a DVD collection that is constantly updated w/​newer and rare titles. Regarding the latter (no pun intended), recently they liquidated their VHS offerings and have gone gung ho on replacing those titles.
You can check out 3 DVDs over a week and renew by phone or the internet, but if you are late the fine is $ 2 per day per DVD.
Lastly, because of its architectural significance movies are shot there every so often, so when you go, they may not be open to the public, but they always alert the patrons when services are planned to be interupted. Some of ‘All the King’s Men’ was done here.