The Archives and Special Collections building is located next door to the Jessie Ball duPont Library. The building is open to the public weekdays from 1-5 p.m. except during school holidays, when it is open by appointment only.
Archives and Special Collections house many rich resources for student, faculty, and others for scholarly research. Particular strengths include southern and local history and southern agrarian literature, information on the Episcopal Church of Tennessee, and papers relating to the history of the University and the surrounding community. Classes visit the Archives and Special Collections to see anything from insects in amber and fossils in the building stone to papers on Civil Rights from the Highlander Folk School or entries from a French Encyclopedia. They may come to view exhibits from our gallery or as a class project to form their own curiosity cabinet in our front room exhibit space. The permanent collection of fine arts contains an eclectic array of material covering the liberal arts. Students can view works from Albrecht Durer and Rembrandt to Jonathan Green and Alexander Calder. Students, parents, and all others are welcome to come to do research or view our exhibits. A student ID or driver's license is required to use research materials.