Guided Tours of the Library & Archives are available by request, Tuesday-Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. CT. Please email ask@tsla.libanswers.com to schedule your group tour.

 

Family History Day

This year the Tennessee State Library & Archives' free Family History Day event will be Saturday, Oct. 29, starting at 9:30 a.m.

Featured Presentation: Welcome Home, Unlocking History Through the Places We Live
Presented by: Librarian Trent Hanner

During the presentation, attendees will learn tools to research the history of their home utilizing the Library & Archives' extensive collections. Whether your family has called Tennessee home for generations or you are new to the area, you can discover the stories of your community by learning how to research the places where we live and work.

After the presentation, the Library & Archives Reading Room will be open with staff and volunteers from the Friends of the Tennessee State Library & Archives to help you trace your family history. Attendees are encouraged to bring whatever information they have, including names, dates and places.

Click Here to Register

This event is FREE and open to the public. Reservations are required due to limited seating. The Library & Archives is located at 1001 Rep. John Lewis Way North on the northeast corner of Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park, across from the Tennessee State Museum. Parking is available for guests in the Library & Archives garage on Jackson Street/Junior Gilliam Way.

Family History Day is hosted by the Tennessee State Library & Archives and the Friends of the Tennessee State Library & Archives.

For more information about this event, please use our Chat with a Librarian tool, call 615-741-2764 or email ask@tsla.libanswers.com.

 

Passport to Tennessee History

The Tennessee State Library & Archives, Tennessee State Museum, Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park and the Tennessee State Capitol invite you to make a history day of it with the Passport to Tennessee History.

Inside the Passport to Tennessee History on Capitol Hill and Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park, visitors will find information about four institutions of Tennessee history. 

Pick up your free Passport to Tennessee History at the Tennessee State Library & Archives, Tennessee State Museum, Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park Visitor Center or Tennessee State Capitol to begin stamping your passport to Tennessee History. Admission to all four participating locations is free.

 

Lunchtime Speaker Series Commemorating Tennessee’s 225 Years of History

Tennessee State Library & Archives is launching a new lecture series revealing the stories behind significant events in Tennessee’s rich 225-year history. The Lunchtime Speaker Series events will be in-person and live-streamed on the Library & Archives’ Facebook page and the Secretary of State’s YouTube channel. Each event will take place from Noon to 1 p.m. In-person attendees are encouraged to bring their lunch. This series is free to the public. In-person seating is limited. 

  • Sept. 10, 2021 - A Look Back at Tennessee’s Centennial Celebration in 1896/7 - the story behind world's fair style event in Nashville led by Historian David E. Ewing - Watch the presentation
  • Nov. 5, 2021 - Why Tennessee is Known as the Volunteer State - history of the nickname and Tennessee's service in military conflicts led by Lipscomb University Professor Tim Johnson - Watch the presentation
  • Feb. 11, 2022 - Tennessee Frontier - How Tennessee’s Land Influenced Where Pioneers Settled by historian and associate professor Aaron Astor – Watch the presentation
  • May 6, 2022 - Tennessee and the Fight to Win Women's Right to Vote by journalist and author Elaine Weiss - Watch the presentation 

 

Lunchtime Speaker Event - This Used to Be Nashville

The Library & Archives is pleased to welcome special guest Jim Hoobler for a lunchtime lecture on April 22, 2022, from Noon to 1 p.m. Mr. Hoobler, a local author and longtime State Museum curator, will present a talk entitled "This Used to Be Nashville." - Watch the presentation