Message from the Dean: New Library Building Update

January 29, 2026

The January 14 edition of The Advocate carried a wonderful editorial describing the status of LSU’s new library project, and calling for financial support comparable to the support shown for LSU’s sports teams.

I found the editorial thrilling, and I’m grateful for its frank appeal for financial support. I must admit, however, to discomfort whenever library funding is compared to LSU sports. I know that folks mean well, but as a librarian who happens to be a long-standing LSU sports fan, I wish the library wasn’t placed in opposition. At this stage in my long career, my most deeply held professional value is my wish for LSU to be a world class institution in every way possible. The gift of my professional life is having been given a chance to play my very small role in that effort.

I sometimes compare research libraries to athletic departments myself, when told that libraries suffer as fundraisers because they don’t grant degrees. “Just like the athletic department,” I’ll say, and while I mean that that in a joking way, there is a serious side to it. For better or worse, there will always be philanthropic individuals who feel an affinity for one part of a university over others. Research libraries do have their own constituencies, people who value the role libraries play in education, or wish to recognize the transformational role a library played in their lives. Being a hopeless romantic in addition to loving sports, my favorite sub-genre of library donors are those who say that they met their spouses-to-be in a given library study hall or flirted with that spouse-to-be at that table over there. Libraries change lives in many beautiful ways.

The Advocate was right. I would like to suggest that LSU Libraries is an excellent choice for any LSU fan who wishes to cast their support behind the academic mission of the university. It is an ecumenical choice, benefiting all LSU students, not just those in a particular major. I’ll go further: I believe that gifts to the library offer the best value proposition on campus. Who wouldn’t want to be part of making the LSU Libraries the world class library it needs to be?

Sincerely,

Stanley Wilder

Dean, LSU Libraries

Kathleen and Joel Ory Endowed Professor

The LSU Libraries includes the LSU Library and the adjacent Hill Memorial Library. Together, the libraries contain more than 4 million volumes and provide additional resources such as expert staff, technology, services, electronic resources, and facilities that advance research, teaching, and learning across every discipline.