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From 1935-1943, the WPA built many public buildings and roads. Almost every American community has a park, bridge or facility constructed by the WPA. The program promoted literacy training, health and education improvement projects as well as programs for art and music. This collection provides over 5,000 photographs documenting these activities in Louisiana. The Louisiana Writers Project compiled collections of folklore, legends, recipes, local history and interviewed local citizens and former slaves. Transcriptions of newspapers dating to 1815 provide insights into the culture and history of Louisiana. The WPA Collection was placed in the custody of the State Library when the WPA ended early in 1943. It has since remained, more or less in storage, and in large degree inaccessible. Now available to the public, this digitized material provides a unique look into the history and culture of Louisiana.