Alumni Asked to Send Books to New Orlean's Dillard University Library
Like many universities in New Orleans, Dillard University was heavily damaged by Hurricane Katrina, much of its collection lost. The Wilson Center has organized a drive to help Dillard replace part of its collection, and is asking current and former scholars to aid the effort.
Dear Wilson Center Alumni,
University libraries in New Orleans were seriously damaged by Hurricane Katrina. Perhaps the worst hit was that of Dillard University, one of New
Orleans' historically black colleges and the one located on the lowest-lying ground.
The Wilson Center has organized a drive to help Dillard replace part of its collection, and we are asking current and former scholars to aid the effort in two ways. The first is to send to Dillard a copy or copies of whatever book you worked on here at the Center. The second is to send scholarly books in good condition that you think belong in a university library. As part of its drive to draw students back to New Orleans, Dillard is instituting a program that will require all freshmen to undertake a major research project – so books on just about any subject will be welcome.
The books should be addressed as follows:
Mr. Nick Harris
Dillard University
2601 Gentilly Boulevard
New Orleans, LA 70122
If you would like a receipt usable for tax purposes, please enclose a letter indicating the number of books, their nature (e.g., political science, American literature), and what you consider to be the dollar amount of their worth. Keep a copy for yourself. Do not be disturbed if you do not receive a receipt immediately: you can imagine how difficult it is for the university to operate under its current conditions. Every time we've spoken with people there, we've heard hammering in the background. The Dillard staff, however, is well aware that you will need a receipt for tax purposes by the end of 2006.
PLEASE NOTE:
1) No books should be sent before January 9, as there will be no one to receive them before that date.
2) BEFORE you send the books, please send an email to Mr. Harris at nharris@dillard.edu, letting him know how many packages or boxes and roughly how many books to expect.
We would appreciate your letting us know as well, just so we have some sense of what's been accomplished. We'll update you here on the Alumni section of the website.
Thanks so much for considering this.
Warm regards,
Philippa Strum
Director, Division of U.S. Studies
