Tennessee State Library and Archives

United States   Tennessee    Archives and Libraries    Tennessee State Library and Archives

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Contact Information
E-mail: [mailto:reference.tsla@tn.gov reference.tsla@tn.gov]  Address:


 * 403 Seventh Avenue North
 * Nashville, TN 37243-1102

Telephone: 615-741-2764

Hours: Monday - Saturday 8:00am - 6:00pm CST Manuscripts Reading Area: Monday - Friday 8:00am - 4:30pm CST


 * Holidays

Directions, map, parking, and public transportation:


 * Location. The Library is immediately west of the State Capitol Building. Roads to the north and west are one way.
 * Map
 * Parking. A few designated visitor spots are at the front and side of the building. Do NOT park in numbered spots until after 4:30 pm or on Saturdays. Additional parking is within walking distance in public lots downtown.
 * Public transportation. For Nashville bus system trip planning, click here.

Internet sites and databases:


 * TSLA Internet site digital collections, catalog, visitor's guide, collections, exhibits, services, resources.
 * TSLA catalog online search titles, authors, subjects, or notes.
 * Tennessee Electronic Library (TEL) index to 40+ databases of 400,000 magazine, journal, and newspaper articles, federal censuses, essays, podcasts, videos, e-books, and many primary sources.

You must be Tennessee resident to accesst this database.

Collection Description
African American records, bibliographies, birth and death records, federal censuses, early county records, tax lists, local histories, school censuses, county archives directory, governors' papers, manuscripts, military records, Native American Cherokee records, newspapers, obituary indexes in public libraries list, place names and maps, state agency records, acts and petitions, Tennessee postcards, city directories and telephone books, penitentiary inmates, and Tennessee county historians.

Digital. In addition to the Tennessee Electronic Library (TEL), online sources include the Tennessee Virtual Archives (TeVA), 19th century newspapers, Civil War era database, Civil War sourcebook, TSLA photograph database, Tennessee's landmark documents (state papers), Nashville city directories, and over a dozen "online exhibits".

Services. TSLA also has a copying service, advice on preserving family records, repository news and updates, public library services and a directory, education outreach, and a library for the blind and physically handicapped.

Tips
No cameras or scanners are allowed in the Archives and Manuscripts Room, but may be permitted in other areas.

Guides

 * "Vistor's Guide" in Tennessee Libraries and Archives in Tennessee Department of State at http://www.tn.gov/tsla/VisitorsGuide.htm (accessed 24 May 2012). Hours, location, parking, registration and security, computers and scanners, and policies.
 * "Genealogical 'Fact Sheets' about Tennessee Counties" in Tennessee Libraries and Archives in Tennessee Department of State at http://www.tn.gov/tsla/history/county/factcounty.htm (accessed 24 May 2012).
 * "Lost Records: Courthouse Fires and Disasters in Tennessee" in Tennessee Libraries and Archives in Tennessee Department of State at http://www.tn.gov/tsla/history/county/lost.htm (accessed 24 May 2012).

Alternate Repositories
If you cannot visit or find a record at the , a similar record may be available at one of the following.

Similar Collections


 * East Tennessee Historical Society, Knoxville, 67,000 books, newspapers, 3,000 genealogies, 14,000 TN first families, manuscripts, census, Knoxville city directories 1859-now, maps, photos, deeds, wills, marriages, military records, TN Confederate pensions, Ancestry.com, New England Ancestors, HeritageQuest, Sanborn maps.
 * Tennessee Genealogical Society and the Germantown Regional History and Genealogy Center, near Memphis, 14,000 family/local histories, census, taxes, vital, newspapers, journal, newsletter, queries, and research service.

Neighboring Collections


 * Metropolitan Nashville-Davidson County Archives, deed, wills, court minutes, birth marriage death, naturalization.
 * Nashville Public Library, Ancestry, HeritageQuest, obituaries 1964-now, marriages 1864-1905, cemetery, photos.
 * Davidson County Clerk, marriages since 1789.
 * Davidson County Register of Deeds, land records since 1784.
 * Davidson County Clerk of the Circuit Court, court records since 1783; probate records since 1784.
 * Middle Tennessee Genealogical Society, Nashville, meetings, publications, genealogists.
 * The Hermitage Museum, home of President Andrew Jackson, Nashville, to learn about Tennesse lifestyles.
 * Repositories in surrounding counties: Robertson, Sumner, Wilson, Rutherford, Williamson, Cheatham.
 * Vanderbuilt University Library, Nashville, biography, history, newspapers, ProQuest, America History &amp; Life.
 * Tennessee State University Library, Nashville, biography, ethnic studies, history, newspapers, JSTOR, Civil War.
 * University of Tennessee Knoxville Libraries documentary histories, ArchivesUSA, newspapers, and ProQuest.
 * State Library of North Carolina, Raleigh, family history, Bibles, marriages, deaths, newspapers, deeds, photos.
 * North Carolina State Archives, Raleigh, census, military, courts, bond, deed, estate, vital record, tax, wills.
 * Repositories in other surrounding states: Kentucky, Virginia, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, Missouri.
 * National Archives Southeast Region (Atlanta) (i.e. Morrow), federal censuses, Ancestry.com, military, pensions, bounty-land, photos, passengers arrival indexes, naturalizations, Native Americans, African Americans, workshops.
 * Allen County Public Library (Indiana) has a premier genealogical periodical collection, genealogies, local histories, databases, military, censuses, directories, passenger lists, American Indians, African Americans, Canadians.
 * Mid-Continent Public Library Midwest Genealogy Center, Independence, MO, national censuses/indexes, 80,000 family histories, 100,000 local histories, 565,000 microfilms, 7,000 maps, and extensive newspaper clippings.
 * Clayton Library Center for Genealogical Research, Houston TX, newspapers, American Civil War, Biography and Genealogy Master Index, Black Studies, Ancestry.com, HeritageQuestOnline, Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade.