When Shandi started at Pruitt Branch Library in May of 2022, she was in her final round of chemo. She couldn’t have imagined her cancer journey would be the impetus for what is now one of the branch’s most popular programs.
With the Main Library temporarily closed after the June 10th fire in the adjacent parking garage, Metro Archives has been working at our offsite storage facility – where there are plenty of projects waiting for us. Wanna know what we've been working on?
Summer is just now about halfway through, but there is still plenty of fun to be had in July and after! Use this blog post to make plans for the rest of the summer, or the rest of year!
When you think "Nashville landmarks," you're likely thinking of Foster & Creighton's work. This construction company played a major role in shaping the city's iconic buildings and infrastructure throughout the 20th century.
If you enjoyed learning about Raymond and Jane Whittaker in my first blog post, this one continues their story through the love letters in the "Raymond Whittaker Papers", that are held in Metro Archives.
If you lock up archivists in their warehouse for a brief time, we start going a little loopy and get some serious work done. So, here’s a glimpse of that work.
Nashville Public Library's Summer Reading Challenge (SRC) isn't just for kids. Learn how SRC can help promote better reading habits, lifelong literacy, and continuous cognitive development at any age.
May 15, 2024 Marked the 8th Annual Adult Education Spring Summit! This is a free professional conference for adult education providers, administrators, and students at the Main Branch of Nashville Public Library. This event is able to be held each year through generous donations from the Nashville Public Library Foundation and the Dollar General Literacy Foundation, wherein the Adult Educator of the Year for Davidson County is recognized and offered a minigrant from the Dollar General Literacy Foundation.
Metro Archives Fall Intern Jamie Erwin processed a standout collection for her internship—the Dr. Ray C. Bunch Collection. Few, if any, medical collections in our repository are this thorough. Jamie shares Dr. Bunch’s story in her own words.
Most people avoid their own yearbooks—but love flipping through others to spot friends and family. That’s why Metro Archives’ Yearbook Collection is one of our most requested. Thanks to Archives Associate Darnetha, it’s now more organized and accessible than ever!
If you're dreaming of a white Christmas this year, you might get your wish. In Nashville? Yes! How common is that? Not very, according to our weather reports and news clippings. But here are the highlights from the few times it has occurred.
First written in March 2018, this post explores why genealogy research spikes in late winter—something that resurfaced during quarantine. We welcome the interest! Here’s a guide to our most-used genealogy resources, research tips, and updates, including Ancestry Library Edition.
The semester is wrapping up, so Metro Archives is sharing another great blog post from our fall intern, Morgan Stence. Morgan processed the Scarritt Bennett Collection, which includes materials from the Celebration of Cultures Festival—learn about it in her own words.
November 12-20 is National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week. Listen to a couple of Nashville StoryCorps interviews, from a formerly unhoused person and an activist for the poor and unhoused.
Donelson Branch Library has served its community since 1966. Its success has played an integral part in the approval of a new facility for Donelson.
The third week of June marks Lightning Safety Awareness Week, and thanks to our volunteers, we’re currently transcribing more weather journals. Here are a few excerpts highlighting some of Nashville’s past “electrical events.”
The 1950 U.S. Census was released on April 1, 2022, offering new information for family researchers. It also introduced new search tools—which can be tricky at first—so here are a few tips to help guide your research.
March is the month that we celebrate Women's History Month, and this post is dedicated to a few of the organizations in the city that helped the advancement of women's rights.
Archives staff member Morgan recently completed a project of transcribing the Nashville City Board of Health Minutes from 1900-1908. From reading the minutes, she was able to take a peek into Nashville’s past and see how the city dealt with a smallpox outbreak over 100 years ago.
One of Metro Archives’ ongoing projects is the Nashville Enslaved and Free People of Color Database. Learn more about what it includes and how to use it in our latest post.
This year marks the 200th anniversary of the founding of Nashville's oldest continuously-operated public cemetery - the Nashville City Cemetery. Nestled quaintly on the northeast side of Fort Negley and just off 4th Ave S, the cemetery might seem like only a quiet piece of Nashville's history, with only the graves of many Nashvillians. But if it could speak, it would have many interesting anecdotes to tell.
This is part II in the series commemorating the 20th anniversary of the 9/11/2001 attacks. This post continues with more library staff memories of that day.
To commemorate the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, and to remember all those lost due to that day's tragic events, this post takes a look back at that day through the eyes of several Library staff members, and a few other unique perspectives.
Picture books can help children (and their parents) process big emotions around major life events, such as the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. Children's book creators have risen to the occasion and produced books that children and adults can both enjoy.
It feels strange to say, but yes—2021 is indeed an Olympic year! And what better time to highlight one of the greatest stories made even more famous by the 1960 Olympics: the TSU Tigerbelles.
Keeping the streets, rivers, and neighborhoods clean in this city over the years hasn't been easy, but one of the ways was with the City Beautiful Commission, that was established in 1953. In honor of Earth Day, here's a look at the commission that helped clean up the streets.
This is Part II of our series on the history of 2nd Ave. Part I ended at the close of the 19th century, so here Part II picks up—right as Market Street becomes 2nd Ave.
Most citizens of this city that have lived here for a few years know what I'm referring to when I say the "Edgehill Polar Bears", but do you know the history of them? Well here are the "bear" necessities.
Just as it takes many varied pieces of cloth to make a beautiful whole quilt, it takes a diverse group of people to make a beautiful community of many faces. Nashville Public Library has a number of resources celebrating diversity.
Everyone knows what it feels like to be hungry and what to do about it but some people are not able to get enough food to eat. Without enough food, we cannot become who we were meant to be. We can help others who are in need of good food.
It’s open enrollment season for the health insurance Marketplace (“Obamacare”). Learn more about the benefits of Marketplace plans, and get local, 1-on-1 enrollment help starting November 2.
September is usually my month for educational posts, but this year I’m switching it up with new images and footage. This post features a slideshow from a collection I’ve been processing, along with new material from our Audiovisual Heritage Center.
Part III in the series of "What Have Metro Archives Been Up to During Quarantine." This last part covers Kelli and Carissa's project of creating portable digitization kits.
Keep calm and homeschool on with the help of Nashville Public Library's Children's Department. Put your mind at ease knowing we have your back when it comes to at-home learning. Check out these amazing resources and programs geared for homeschool families with questions.
As we round the corner to our virtual opening on August 18, we're capping off our Nashville Voices series with one last story—a powerful testimonial from a powerful woman.
The Brooklyn Heights Community Garden that Nella Pearl Frierson founded nurtures more than local produce.
Part II in our “What Has Metro Archives Been Up to During Quarantine?” series takes a look at the projects Ken and Kelley have been working on — along with introductions to their at-home “coworkers.”
The world knew Reverend C.T. Vivian and U.S. Rep John Lewis as giants. But, before they were icons, they were young men beginning a journey in Nashville.
We celebrate and remember what Reverend C.T. Vivian and U.S. Rep. John Lewis did for Nashville and for Nashville Public Library.
This month’s Nashville history post lets photography do the talking, with a series of slideshows to enjoy. It begins with a tribute to medical workers for their dedication during these challenging times and ends with a bit of “Some Good News—Archives Edition.”
Lauri Newell doesn’t think of her life as extraordinary.
“But then again,” she says, “I’m getting to nurture my family and our dreams at the same time."
With extra time during a month of quarantine, it’s a good opportunity to preserve family ephemera. This blog post, contributed by my coworker Christine Irizarry, highlights the importance of family letters and offers tips on preserving family records.
Borrowing John Krasinski’s idea of sharing “Some Good News,” here are historic Nashville news clippings from past pandemics and epidemics. Rather than focusing on devastation, these highlight positive stories and moments of hope from those same difficult times.
Are you prepared for what's coming? Three elections between now and the end of the year! Get ready to answer your kiddos' questions with these books from the library.
In honor of African American History Month and to highlight individuals featured in Metro Archives’ new display on Nashville women, this blog post is dedicated to a few notable women of Music City.
2020 marks several important anniversaries, including the 19th Amendment, celebrated with a new permanent Special Collections exhibit and additional temporary displays. It also marks 100 years since Prohibition began, a milestone that had a lasting impact on the country.
"I find that regularly practicing tai chi is relaxing and helps to reduce stress. It has helped to improve my focus, muscle strength, flexibility, and balance." -Ann Hargis, Tai Chi instructor
The 19th Amendment, then and now. Nashville Public Library, then and now.
A hundred years after women won the right to vote, the library asks Nashville, what's next?
Votes for Women opens at the Main Library in 2020.
Something wicked this way comes...in the form of this blog post. It's the spookiest time of year, which means this blog post is filled with everything Nashville-Halloween-related from food to ghost stories. Read on, if you dare.
In addition to being a groundbreaking, trendsetting partnership between the public library and public school systems, Limitless Libraries also sponsors an annual bookmark and poster contest in celebration of School Library Month. Check out the 2019 winners!
Be Well at NPL values making health information and wellness opportunities accessible to all, which is why we are thrilled to partner with the All of Us Research Program, a national effort to speed up medical breakthroughs and create a future of medicine that can tailor to our unique differences.
Nashville's history with theatre and the performing arts is long and storied. You can find treasure after treasure documenting this history in NPL Special Collections. On May 25, Special Collections is playing its own role in the story.
The Nashville Room's Special Collections wing is home to many invaluable resources, including a collection of nearly 200 oral histories about the 2010 flood.
For every workshop, class, story time, and bookshelf you see at Nashville Public Library, there are two sets of hands at work. One belongs to a Nashville Public Library employee. The other belongs to one of the library’s volunteers.
Born in rural Kenya and educated in the United States, Wangari Maathai was the first woman in East Africa to earn a doctoral degree, a Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, and is the founder of the Green Belt Movement. Her incredible story is the subject of several picture book biographies for children.
The Nashville Room has a small exhibit of photographs to celebrate the availability of a new collection documenting the activities of the YWCA Blue Triangle Branch. Come see our resources!
One of our most-utilized resources here in Special Collections is the Nashville Banner clippings: articles about every aspect of Nashville life from the 1950s through the 1990s. In this post, I use Banner clippings to tell you the story of two popular types of night spot entertainment: mechanical bull riding and karaoke!
Exploring the holdings of Main Library’s Special Collections, I stumbled upon a local figure I hadn’t heard of before—Robert Churchwell. Hired by the Nashville Banner in 1950, Churchwell was the first black journalist and full-time reporter for a Southern newspaper.
Since 1988, December 1 has been World AIDS Day. Help break down stigma by checking out some library material on HIV/AIDS health information, its history and early activism, and the personal experiences of people living with and affected by this virus.
While most of us are used to getting our yearly flu vaccine to help prevent that pesky illness from infecting us, there was once a time when that vaccine didn't exist. And the consequences were catastrophic.
The award-winning creators of Last Stop on Market Street reunite for a beautifully poignant and timely book about family, what we hope for, and what is possible.
Every October, the Southern Festival of Books: A Celebration of the Written Word, turns our “it city” into “lit city.” With three days of thoughtful, exciting programming, this event has long been a fall-time favorite, appealing to more than just bookworms. I investigated the roots of this community-building festival using primary and secondary sources from NPL Special Collections.
It feels like everything in Nashville costs money these days, but there are still plenty of fun, free things to do with your kids in the city this summer!
In celebration of the Library’s Summer Challenge theme, “Being a Reading Rockstar,” this month’s Nashville history post looks back at the arts festival that filled Nashville’s streets with music long before Lightning 100’s “Live on the Green.”
Nashville Public Library, through Nashville After Zone Alliance (NAZA), provides free, quality afterschool programs for the critical window of time between 3 and 6 o'clock.
Nashville Public Library is excited to help celebrate the 125th anniversary of Ryman Auditorium and host Ryman Auditorium: Soul of Nashville, a brand new art exhibit exploring the iconic venue’s rich history. The exhibit is on display at NPL’s Main Library downtown from October 21 through February 25.
1 in 5 adults in the United States will experience a serious mental health issue in their lifetime. Though stigma and shame can prevent us from seeking help, NPL and the local mental health service community are here to provide information, validation, and hope.
With 16 free, weekly classes to choose from, get out your mat (or borrow one of ours) and join NPL for a summer of yoga! We've also got books and DVDs you can use at home.
Nashville may be known as Music City, but we also LOVE our professional sports – whether the boys have sticks, bats, or footballs, fans will turn out to cheer on our local teams.
Though its campus is visible from I-65 South near Armory Lane, Father Ryan High School hasn’t always been at its Norwood Drive location. Metro Archives holds photos of the former building, its demolition, and other materials that tell the story of the school’s history.
Children’s Day/El día de los niños, also called Día (Diversity in Action), is an annual national event that is celebrated on or around April 30th that highlights the importance of literacy throughout all cultures and languages. Libraries and organizations around the country celebrate this day with a variety of events to showcase the beauty of diversity within their communities.
In this country’s present political and cultural climate, there are some people who think it’s acceptable to discriminate against people who may be Muslim or from the Middle East. This, of course, is wrong. People are people, and they all deserve respect, safety, and understanding. The children's books below portray Muslims and the Middle East in the light they deserve: positive, honest, open, and respectful.
Recent events have brought the world's attention to the presence of refugees in the United States. The children's picture books featured in this blog post share what it’s like to be a refugee from a child’s perspective, and are wonderful to share with children of all backgrounds.
Sonia Manzano, better known to millions of children and adults as “Maria” from Sesame Street, is also the author of several books for young children. Discover them with Nashville Public Library!
I love this cookbook for so many reasons--its fun, veggie-filled recipes, its attention to fixed grocery budgets, and its PDF version with a creative commons license for online sharing.
Do you ever get to the bottom of a page and have no idea what you just read because your mind was wandering? While the book may be interesting, you find yourself worrying about the future or dreaming of the past? Come back to the present moment with the simple practice of mindfulness.
This week is National Library Week, and the American Library Association has selected "Libraries Transform" as its theme. While the Nashville Public Library has received widespread recognition in recent years, we have a long history of innovation and outreach to our community.
