McNeese SAGE Series Presents “Guidebooks to Sin”

As a part of the fall 2019 SAGE series, author Pamela Arceneaux will present a lecture titled, “Guidebooks to Sin: The Blue Books of Storyville, New Orleans,” at 3:00 p.m., Monday, Nov. 11, in the McNeese State University SEED Center.

Between 1897 and 1917, a legal red-light district of Storyville thrived at the edge of the French Quarter, helping establish New Orleans’ notorious reputation. While many researchers have delved into the history of Storyville, there has been little academic focus on the districts “blue books,” which served as directories of the neighborhood’s prostitutes and featured advertisements for liquor, brothels and venereal disease cures.

In her lecture, Arceneaux explores historic Storyville as created by its own entrepreneurs through an examination of these rare guides.

Pamela D. Arceneaux is senior librarian and rare books curator at The Historic New Orleans Collection, where she has worked since 1981. A native of Panama City, she received her bachelor’s degree in history from West Georgia College (now the University of West Georgia) and an Master of Library Science from Louisiana State University. She is a recipient of the Louisiana Library Association’s Lucy B. Foote Award.

For more information, or to register, call 337-475-5616 or visit www.mcneese.edu/leisure.

Persons needing accommodations as provided by the Americans with Disabilities Act should contact the ADA Coordinator at 337-475-5428, voice; 337-475-5960, fax; 337-562-4227, TDD/TTY, hearing impaired; or by email at cdo@mcneese.edu.