Norman Mayer Library
🏢 New Orleans Public Library · New Orleans, Louisiana
Norman Mayer Library
The anchor library of the Gentilly neighborhood, Norman Mayer Library first opened in 1949 through an endowment from the widow of New Orleans cotton broker Norman Mayer. After Hurricane Katrina ruined the original building, a two-story, 18,000-square-foot replacement opened in 2012 on Gentilly Boulevard, holding roughly 40,000 volumes for a neighborhood that was still rebuilding around it.
🕑 Library Hours
| Monday | 10am–7pm |
| Tuesday | 10am–7pm |
| Wednesday | 10am–7pm |
| Thursday | 10am–7pm |
| Friday | 10am–5pm |
| Saturday | 10am–5pm |
| Sunday | Closed |
Hours may vary on holidays; check the library site before visiting.
📍 Location, Contact & Directions
Address: 3001 Gentilly Boulevard, New Orleans, LA 70122
Phone: (504) 596-3100
Website: nolalibrary.org
Plus Code: 76XFXWWQ+PC (New Orleans, LA)
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📖 About Norman Mayer Library
Norman Mayer Library has served the Gentilly neighborhood since 1949, when it opened on Gentilly Boulevard through funds donated by the widow of New Orleans cotton broker and civic leader Norman Mayer, who had founded Norman Mayer and Co. in 1910 after arriving in the city as a boy. A nearby Gentilly avenue was also named in his honor in 1950. The library served its community for more than fifty years until August 2005, when the levee failures following Hurricane Katrina flooded and ruined the building. The structure was demolished in 2009. A replacement was built on the same Gentilly Boulevard site at a cost of more than $5.7 million; the new two-story branch of approximately 18,000 square feet opened in 2012, holding around 40,000 volumes across its two floors. It functions as the central library resource for Gentilly, one of the large residential neighborhoods north of City Park, and is open six days a week with evening hours Monday through Thursday.
⭐ What makes this library special
- Opened in 1949 through an endowment by the widow of cotton broker and civic leader Norman Mayer
- Two-story, 18,000-square-foot building rebuilt for more than $5.7 million after Hurricane Katrina
- Holds approximately 40,000 volumes across two floors
- Central library for the Gentilly neighborhood, north of City Park
- Named for the same Norman Mayer for whom Gentilly's Norman Mayer Avenue is dedicated (1950)
📱 Digital Resources — Free with Your Library Card
Norman Mayer cardholders can access these free digital resources with their NOPL card:
📚 Services
- Book, audiobook, DVD, magazine, and e-resource lending
- Public computers, free Wi-Fi, and printing
- Interlibrary loan through NOPL
- Meeting and program spaces on two floors
- Culture Pass for free museum and cultural venue entry
- Children's storytimes and youth programming
🎸 Programs
- Children's storytimes and Take & Make craft kits
- Teen and youth programming
- Adult programs and book discussions
- Community events for Gentilly residents
- Summer reading challenge
📍 Nearby Libraries in New Orleans
Distances are approximate straight-line miles from this library.
All libraries in New Orleans · Browse all Louisiana libraries →
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
Who was Norman Mayer, and why is the library named for him?
Norman Mayer was a New Orleans cotton broker and civic leader who arrived in the city as a boy and founded Norman Mayer and Co. in 1910. After his death, his widow donated funds to the New Orleans Public Library, and the Gentilly Boulevard branch that opened in 1949 was named in his honor. Nearby Norman Mayer Avenue, dedicated in 1950, also carries his name.
Is the current Norman Mayer Library building the original 1949 structure?
No. The original 1949 building served Gentilly for more than fifty years but was flooded and ruined after the levee failures during Hurricane Katrina. The structure was demolished in 2009, and the current two-story, approximately 18,000-square-foot building opened on the same Gentilly Boulevard site in 2012.
How large is the Norman Mayer Library?
The rebuilt branch is approximately 18,000 square feet spread across two floors and holds around 40,000 volumes, making it one of the more substantial neighborhood libraries in the New Orleans Public Library system.
What are the Norman Mayer Library's evening hours?
The branch is open Monday through Thursday from 10am to 7pm, giving working and school-age patrons time to visit after the day. On Friday and Saturday it is open from 10am to 5pm. The library is closed on Sundays.
🎨 This library lends museum passes. See how library museum passes work and find other libraries that lend passes museum passes by state.
🖨 This library offers printing, copying & fax. See how library printing, copying, scanning and fax services work — costs and mobile printing — and find other libraries that offer them printing & fax by state.
👶 This library runs story times for kids. See how library story times work — ages, what happens and that they are free — and find other libraries with story-time programs library story times by state.
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✓ Hours & details last verified from official sources in September 2026.