The Rudolph Matas Library

The origin of the Tulane Medical Library dates from the founding of the Medical College of Louisiana (now Tulane University School of Medicine) in 1834. First mention of the Library occurred in the faculty minutes of the College in 1844. In 1895, Dr. Rudolph Matas began his long history of support of the Library, devoting much of his energy and fortune to the expansion of its collections and services, for the benefit of students and faculty at his alma mater and medical practitioners everywhere. The Library was named in his honor in 1937.

The picture to the right shows the library around the turn of the century in the Richardson Memorial Building on Canal Street.

Four individuals have served as Library Director in the Twentieth Century: Jane Grey Rogers, Mary Louise Marshall, William D. Postell, and W.D. Postell, Jr.

Beyond the benefaction of Dr. Matas, other library endowments are those from the estates or families of: Arthur Bernard Brown -- Louis Burgess, M.D. -- Herman Gessner, M.D. -- C. Edmund Kells, D.D.S -- James Kenny -- Isaac Lemann, M.D. -- Andrew Mouledous, M.D. -- Maurice Stern -- Jacob Storck, M.D. -- Gloria Walsh -- Eva Weinstein.