Hurricane Katrina ravaged the studio of Donn Young Photography. For nearly four weeks the library of art created in 35 years of work, well over 1,500,000 images, was under 10 feet of water. The Archive, Records, Managers and Administrators Association and Louisiana State University Hill Memorial Library Special Collections have deemed the work "historically significant." There is a mandate from both organizations for the salvaging and restoration of the files that document of our generation’s life. The Louisiana State Archives has created the Donn Young Archive a reference of images for future generations to study. Donn Young is the first living photographer of his generation to be so honored.