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, and parking:


 * 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.

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.

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 offers a copying service for selected materials, advice on preserving family records, news and updates, public library services and a directory, education outreach, a library for the blind and physically handicapped, and preservation suggestions for archivists and government officials.

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 23 May 2010). 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 23 May 2010).
 * "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 23 May 2010).

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


 * Davidson County Archives
 * Davidson County Public Library
 * Nashville Public Library
 * Davidson County Historical Society
 * Davidson County Genealogical Society
 * surrounding counties
 * Memphis
 * Knoxville
 * North Carolina State Library and Archives
 * surrounding states
 * National Archives-Southeast Region, Atlanta
 * The Hermitage (Andrew Jackson's home)
 * 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.
 * 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.