University of Louisiana at Lafayette

University Archives and Special Collections in Dupré Library is filled with amazing treasures. Author Ernest Gaines’ handwritten manuscripts. A uniform jacket worn by a cadet soon after the school opened in 1901. A photo of the first faculty members – all eight of them.

The Archives is celebrating its 50th birthday.

For a blast from the past, check out L’Acadien, UL Lafayette’s yearbook. All volumes, starting from the first that was published in 1912, are now accessible online.

Each page was digitized during a student-funded project that took about three months to complete.

John Sharp, a researcher in the University’s Center for Louisiana Studies, calls Louisiana dance halls a “great cultural phenomenon.” He has created a website, LouisianaDancehalls.com, that’s a clearinghouse of information about more than 1,600 establishments statewide.

He’s asking for any related stories you would like to share.