5 Most Beautiful Public Libraries in Louisiana

Often overlooked on travel itineraries, libraries can be a great first stop when you arrive in a new town. They are open to the public, climate-controlled, and usually have ample seating and free wifi. They are even more fun when they are housed in cool buildings, and some, after meticulous planning and years of community support, develop into extraordinary attractions in their own right. The great state of Louisiana features several libraries of that ilk with spaces as beautiful as the books they keep.

The next time you head to Louisiana or hit the road from within the Bayou State, plan your trip around visiting these beautiful branches. You'll enjoy stunning architecture, thoughtful groundskeeping, and magnificent collections of art in a wide range of forms and genres.

Jennings Carnegie Public Library

The Jennings Carnegie Public Library, built in 1908, is the oldest established library in Louisiana. Around the turn of the century, the Jennings Ladies’ Library Association secured a $10,000 donation from the Carnegie Library Program to construct a local library, and their work has stood the test of time. The building is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places and features Italian Renaissance-style designs. Four Corinthian columns greet you as you climb a few stairs to enter the library's front door. Some say these stairs are a signature touch of a Carnegie Library, symbolizing the elevation offered by the act of learning. Many interior features of the library have been renovated and upgraded over the past century, most notably in 1952, when architects expanded the building’s south wing.

The library is a stone's throw from more downtown attractions, like the Zigler Art Museum and the WH Tupper General Merchandise Museum. It’s also across the street from another public library, the Jefferson Davis Parish Library, so true bibliophiles can enjoy an extra library tour without even getting back into the car.

River Center Branch Library

The East Baton Rouge Parish Libraries boast some stunning spaces. From the Main Branch on Goodwood Avenue downtown to the Pride-Chaneyville Branch outside of town, each has something beautiful to offer visitors, though the River Center Branch stands out. The impressive library building was completed in 2020 and has since become somewhat of a centerpiece of downtown Baton Rouge.

Tons of thought, time, and money went into making sure this is a beautiful library, which was initially commissioned in 2010, ten years before it opened to the public. The project was so ambitious that it almost didn’t work. In 2018, nearby buildings were evacuated, and work was halted after cracks appeared on the library's fourth floor. Now, all can enjoy the fruits of this long labor.

Inside and out, this library puts on a show. The library's interior floors each feel unique: the kids and teens floor has a circuit board theme and wrap-around windows, and the third floor walls are adorned with colorful maps of downtown Baton Rouge. The massive library features a public plaza and connects to the North Boulevard Town Square in downtown Baton Rouge.

Rosa F. Keller Library and Community Center

The most beautiful aspect of the Rosa F. Keller Library and Community Center is simply that it exists at all. The library area and the entire Broadmoor neighborhood of New Orleans in which it sits were initially slated for destruction and transformation into a drainage park in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The proposal was met with strong opposition from residents and local politicians, however, and was ultimately overturned, with the Keller Library receiving federal funding in addition to a $2 million grant from the Carnegie Foundation to secure its future as a community hub.

More than two decades later, the revitalized space pays tribute to the Broadmoor neighborhood that houses it. The library is actually two distinct buildings: a 1917 bungalow converted into a community space, formerly known as the Hardie-Fattel House, and a modern library wing built around a functional courtyard. Architects raised both buildings above Katrina flood levels and designed a roof that directs rainwater through terraces filled with water-loving native plants.

State Library of Louisiana

In 2025, the current State Library of Louisiana celebrated 100 years of service. The first State Library was created in 1838 and was moved several times between Baton Rouge and New Orleans. Today, the site is home to over eleven million items protected and displayed for public record.

The design of this library is contemporary, with a five-story building marked by clean lines rather than decorative detail in a clear shift away from the Corinthian columns and Renaissance exteriors we’ve seen in other libraries. The library is also beautifully located near Louisiana’s center of government. Right across the street, you can stroll through the Capitol Gardens and make an afternoon out of checking out Louisiana's developments over the last century.

Milton H. Latter Memorial Library

Housed in a converted grand mansion, the Milton H. Latter Memorial Library was once a privately owned estate. Many of the building's original features and details have been preserved and converted into an outstanding space that invites the public directly inside, where the New Orleans elite once lived. At the time of its conversion into a public library in 1948, the Milton H. Latter Memorial Library was the only mansion in the United States that was also a library. The building is smack-dab in the middle of St. Charles Avenue, one of many grand mansions lining the street and attributed to some of America’s greatest architects. It is the only grand home on St. Charles open to the public, so it serves double duty as both a public library and a living museum of Early American construction marvels.

You don’t even need to walk inside to get a good look at those feats. Everything surrounding this beautiful library, from the building architecture to the intricate landscaping that lines the property's edges, works together to make the Milton H. Latter Memorial Library stand out. Plus, this library is in a great, central location near the Uptown New Orleans Historic District. Tack a visit onto any trip to New Orleans and enjoy a peaceful afternoon amidst a beautiful backdrop.

Beautiful Libraries Make Beautiful Communities

Behind every inch of these libraries are decades of careful planning and a clear belief in the value of public space, not to mention the benefit of education. They are free to visit, packed with amenities, and full of utilitarian beauty. Louisiana’s most iconic public libraries mix architecture, setting, and light to create a space carefully shaped to give you peace of mind. Whether you’re just passing through town or a long-time Louisiana local, these libraries are absolutely worth seeking out.