Library Overview

The University of Tennessee Special Collections Library builds collections of manuscripts, books, and other unique primary research materials in support of the scholarly pursuits of the university community and the residents of Tennessee. With nearly 50,000 rare book titles and 7,000 linear feet of manuscript materials related primarily to Tennessee and the Southeast, the library's collections provide colorful and vivid accounts of the development of the United States from the perspective of the region. Significant holdings include materials from or related to the Civil War and Reconstruction in Tennessee; the Great Smoky Mountains; Native Americans, particularly the Cherokee and Creek tribes; and Tennessee authors, including Alex Haley and James Agee.

The library also contains a strong collection of books and manuscripts related to Tennessee politicians. In 2004, Special Collections, the Department of History, the Papers of Andrew Jackson, and the Correspondence of James K. Polk collaborated to create the Center for Jacksonian America, which specializes in collecting and promoting access to materials related to American history from the beginning of the War of 1812 until the conclusion of the Mexican War in 1848. Additionally, since 2005, the library worked with the Howard H. Baker Jr., Center for Public Policy to create the Modern Political Archives, a research center focused on documenting the work of Tennessee politicians on the local, state, and national level in the modern era. Among the collections in the Modern Political Archives are the papers of Senators Howard H. Baker Jr., Bill Brock, Estes Kefauver, and Fred Thompson.

University of Tennessee Special Collections Library
James D. Hoskins Library
1401 Cumberland Avenue
Knoxville, Tennessee 37996-4000
http://www.lib.utk.edu/spcoll/
special@utk.edu
(865) 974-4480 (t)
(865) 974-0560 (f)