Archives & Special Collections
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The mission of Special Collections is to deliver a sustainable legacy of unique cultural heritage by preserving and providing access in perpetuity to Vanderbilt University’s impressive collection of rare books, manuscripts, photographs, memorabilia, audio-visual, and institutional archives in our care whatever the format (analog or digital). |
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Collections Overview: Special Collections & University Archives |
Special Collections and University Archives, now located at 1101 19th Ave South, owns approximately 700 manuscript collections on a variety of topics including civil rights, performing arts, astronomy and physics, and others. The collections listed here are a select list of manuscript collections held by Vanderbilt Libraries.
Special Collections Finding Aids.
For a list of all special collections by subject, please see the collections Subject List.
For a list of all the special collections by title, please see the collections Alphabetical List.
Please note that for the alphabetical and subject lists, a handful of items are owned by other libraries in the system even though most items belong to Special Collections. If you are uncertain which library owns an item on the list contact Special Collections.
Off-Site
If the phrase "off-site" appears next to a collection title, then the collection is stored at our off-site facility. Individual boxes will need to be requested for use in class and in the Special Collections Reading Room. Due to limited storage on our hold shelf, only two boxes per person may be requested at a time from off-site storage.
Inventory Available
If the phrase "inventory available" appears next to a collection title, then a paper-based inventory is available for the collection. To request a PDF of the inventory, please contact Special Collections for assistance.
Small Collection
If the phrase "small collection" appears next to a collection title, it contains less than one full box of material. All other collections contain at least one full box of papers.
Thanks to Teresa Gray, Public Services Librarian, Special Collections, for compling this manuscripts page.
- WorldCat (FirstSearch) This link opens in a new window
Catalog of books, manuscripts, websites, internet resources, maps, computer programs, musical scores, films, slides, newspapers, journals, magazines, sound recordings, articles, chapters, papers, and videotapes available at libraries worldwide. Cross-search OCLC databases: ArchiveGrid, ArticleFirst, Ebooks, ECO, ERIC, GPO, MEDLINE, OAIster, PapersFirst, ProceedingsFirst, WorldCat, and WorldCatDissertations.
- Archives GridArchiveGrid includes over 5 million records describing archival materials, bringing together information about historical documents, personal papers, family histories, and more. Over 1,000 different archival institutions included.
- Archives Portal EuropeArchives Portal Europe provides access to information on archival material from different European countries as well as information on archival institutions throughout the continent.
- Social Networks and Archival ContextSNAC is demonstrating the feasibility of separating the description of persons, families, and organizations—including their socio-historical contexts—from the description of the historical resources that are the primary evidence of their lives and work. A key objective is to provide researchers with convenient, integrated access to historical collections held by multiple private and public archives and libraries around the world while also setting the stage for a cooperative program for maintaining information about the people documented in the collections.
- UmbraSearch822,286 items from more than 1,000 U.S. archives, libraries, and museums related to African American history.
- Special Collections, Fisk University
Consists mainly of primary and secondary materials on African American history and culture. - Special Collections, Nashville Public Library
Serves as a repository and research center for historic Nashville materials. - Tennessee State Library & Archives
Collects and preserves materials of historical, documentary and literary works of special interest to the citizens of Tennessee. - Special Collections, Tennessee State University
