Louisiana
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For the calendar year 2001, Louisiana's 64 parishes were served by 65 public library systems, with a total of 329 libraries, of which 264 were branches. In that same year, the public library system had 10,850,000 volumes of books and serial publications on its shelves, and had a total circulation of 18,376,000. The system also had 230,000 audio and 309,000 video items, 13,000 electronic format items (CD-ROMs, magnetic tapes, and disks), and 30 bookmobiles. The New Orleans Public Library, with 14 branches and 739,473 books, features a special collection on jazz and folk music, and the Tulane University Library (1,765,000 volumes) has special collections on jazz and Louisiana history. Among the libraries with special black-studies collections are those of Grambling State University, Southern University Agricultural and Mechanical System at Baton Rouge, Xavier University of Louisiana at New Orleans, and the Amistad Collection at Tulane University. The library of Northwestern State University at Natchitoches has special collections on Louisiana history, folklore, Indians, botany, and oral history. In 2001, operating income for the state's public library system was $112,068,000, which included $107,000 in federal funds and $6,817,000 in state funds.

As of 2000, Louisiana had 89 museums and historic sites, as well as more than 27 art collections. Leading art museums are the New Orleans Museum of Art, the Lampe Gallery in New Orleans, and the R. W. Norton Art Gallery at Shreveport. The art museum of the Louisiana Arts and Science Center at Baton Rouge is located in the renovated Old Illinois Central Railroad Station. The oldest and largest museum in the state is the Louisiana State Museum, an eight-building historic complex in the Vieux Carre. There is a military museum in Beauregard House at Chalmette National Historical Park, on the site of the Battle of New Orleans, and a Confederate Museum in New Orleans. The Bayou Folk Muse-um at Cloutierville is in the restored home of author Kate Chopin; the Longfellow-Evangeline State Commemorative Area has a historical museum on its site. Among the state's scientific museums are the Lafayette Natural History Museum, Planetarium, and Nature Station, and the Museum of Natural Science in Baton Rouge. Audubon Park and Zoological Gardens are in New Orleans. The "Louisiana and Lower Mississippi Valley Collection" at LSU is an extensive collection of Louisiana history, photographs, and manuscripts.

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