Special Collections
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Archive Finders
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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.
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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GridArchiveGrid includes over 5 million records describing archival materials, bringing together information about historical documents, personal papers, family histories, and more.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.
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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.
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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.
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UmbraSearch822,286 items from more than 1,000 U.S. archives, libraries, and museums related to African American history.
Library Exhibit
Tracing the Movement of Populations: American Legacies of Expansion and Removal
From the birth of the United States to modern times, many living on American soil migrated across the country either by force or seeking better opportunities. Tracing the Movement of Populations: American Legacies of Expansion and Removal uses materials from Vanderbilt’s Special Collections to explore these narratives. They include the long removal of Native Americans from ancestral lands, Tennesseans migrating to Texas, and Japanese Americans facing internment in Utah during World War II. Competing legacies of freedom, equality, and opportunity run throughout the exhibit.
Native Americans living in the Southeast were forced from their homelands during the early years of the United States. Andrew Jackson and other officials were crucial in implementing removal. Throughout this period Native Americans asserted their sovereign in correspondence with U.S. officials. Tennesseans of European descent, notably Sam Houston and David Crockett, felt a better economic, social, and political destiny awaited them in Texas after 1830. Abundant lands expanded the cotton trade using the forced migrant slave labor of African Americans. In Topaz, Utah, the Nisei documented their lives and aspirations, under internment, through artwork and magazines. They also performed American citizenship as soldiers and nurses for the war effort. These three components explore the perspectives of those who crossed the internal borders of our country, and in doing so left their footprint on its history.
Special Collection Procedures
Special Collections and University Archives (SCUA)
This page provides important information that will make your next visit to Special Collections and University Archives a success.
Hours of Operation
Monday-Friday, 8am-5pm.
During the semester some classes will be held in Special Collections that may affect the availability for appointments. Please keep this in mind as you plan your visit, and we thank you in advance for your flexibility.
What to know before you make an appointment
- Please allow 48 hours' notice when making appointments. Many of our materials are shelved offsite and require sufficient time for safe retrieval and access. If you need an exception, contact specialcollections@vanderbilt.edu
How to make an appointment
- Create an account on our registration form.
- Email us at specialcollections@vanderbilt.edu to start the conversation about your research needs. Let us know your research topic, what items interest you, and/or if you need help identifying materials. Please tell us if you expect to require multiple visits so we can discuss your options.
- Do not travel to the library until you’ve received an email confirming your appointment and requests.
On the day of your appointment
- Researchers will need to present a valid photo ID or Vanderbilt ID.
- You may bring the following with you into the reading room:
- Laptop (without bag or sleeve)
- Cell phone (set to vibrate or silent)
- Camera
- Pencils
- Loose leaf paper
Other Archives in Nashville
- Special Collections, Fisk University
Consist mainly of primary and secondary materials on African-American themes. - 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 reference value, and literary works and printed matter to be of special interest to the citizens of Tennessee. - Special Collections, Tennessee State University
