403 Seventh Avenue North
Nashville, TN 37243
(615) 741-2764
Fax: (615) 532-5315
Map

email: Lori.Lockhart@state.tn.us

---

The Tennessee State Library (TSLA) was founded in 1854 in the old Davidson County courthouse but spent most of the next one hundred years in the State Capitol. In 1953, the Tennessee State Library and Archives building, directly across from the capitol, was formally opened. The building was constructed as a memorial to the men and women of Tennessee who served in World War II. In 2003, the building was listed on the National and Tennessee Registers of Historic Places.

TSLA’s Mandate
The Tennessee State Library and Archives is mandated by the Tennessee Code Annotated (TCA 10-1-104) to provide for “the collection and preservation of archival material and materials of historical, documentary and reference value, and such literary works or printed matter as may be considered by the division to be of special interest to the citizenship of Tennessee.”

TSLA’s Mission
The Tennessee State Library and Archives serves Tennessee government and all its citizens by acquiring, organizing, preserving and making accessible public and historical records and other resources; by providing statewide consultation services in support of public libraries and local archives; and by offering alternative formats for reading for those Tennesseans unable to use standard print material.

The Exhibits Committee of the Tennessee State Library and Archives is responsible for developing exhibits that are in keeping with TSLA’s mandate and mission. Exhibits are an important part of educational outreach and are designed to engage visitors with items from TSLA’s vast collections. The Exhibits Committee works diligently to create exhibits that are engaging, informative and have a human touch. All exhibits are free and open to the public.

Hours and Holidays
The Tennessee State Library and Archives is open Monday through Saturday from 8:00am - 6:00pm CST, excluding state and federal holidays.
TSLA will be closed on the following holidays:
New Years
Martin Luther King Day
President's Day
Good Friday
Memorial Day
Independence Day
Labor Day
Columbus Day**
Veteran's Day
Thanksgiving
Christmas

** The Governor may, at his discretion, substitute the Friday after the fourth Thursday in November for the Columbus Day holiday.

Contact Information
For more information about exhibits at the Tennessee State Library and Archives, please contact the Exhibits Committee Chairman:
Lori Lockhart, M.A.Ed.
Archival Technical Services

---

Exhibition

Tennessee Disasters
Through Oct. 1, 2010

Many communities in Tennessee were hit hard by the recent flooding, but the state’s residents have endured many disasters before.

A Yellow Fever epidemic in the 1870s caused more than 7,000 deaths in Memphis alone. The sinking of the steamboat Sultana on the Mississippi River in 1865 claimed more lives than the sinking of Titanic 47 years later. And a head-on collision between two trains in Nashville in 1918 still ranks as one of the worst train wrecks of all time.

All of those calamities - and others - are documented in a new exhibit on display at the Tennessee State Library and Archives building in downtown Nashville. The exhibit, titled “Tennessee Disasters,” chronicles some of the worst moments in the Volunteer State’s history, as well as the determination and resilience of the people who lived through them.

The exhibit, which is free and open to the public, recounts the Blizzard of 1951, which froze the Cumberland River and paralyzed usually balmy Nashville for more than a week. There is also a section devoted to the New Madrid earthquakes of 1811-1812, which created Reelfoot Lake and caused tremors felt as far away as Maine. And there is another section describing the Fraterville Mine accident of 1902.

“Tennessee has seen its share of disasters, but this exhibit also highlights the courage and strength many people who have lived in this state have shown in the face of adversity,” Secretary of State Tre Hargett said. “There really is a spirit of neighbors helping neighbors that is evident in some of these exhibits. For example, there was a fire in East Nashville in 1916 fueled by high winds that destroyed about 500 houses, but because people pulled together and helped each other, there were few injuries and only one death.”