Special Collections

A photograph of The Reverend James M. Lawson, Jr. and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. from the 1960s. (Vanderbilt University Special Collections and University Archives) The Jean and Alexander Heard Libraries join the entire Vanderbilt community in the excitement of today’s announcement about the new James Lawson Institute… Read More

Hilary A. Craiglow, who has led the Walker Management Library for more than a decade, has been named interim university librarian. Craiglow’s appointment, effective July 1, was announced today by Vanessa Beasley, vice provost for academic affairs and dean of residential faculty. Read the full article >… Read More

Written by Elizabeth Mosiman When Vanderbilt University first opened in 1875, students lived in university-approved boarding houses near campus. The closest the university came to having a dormitory was Wesley Hall – a former boarding house – which served multiple purposes: housing faculty and divinity students; providing classroom space for… Read More

Vanderbilt University deeply values the neighbors, community partners and visitors who make the campus community so vibrant. The Fine Arts Gallery, the History of Medicine Collections and the Special Collections and University Archives Library never stopped providing online access to collections and online reference throughout the… Read More

A new exhibition highlighting the history of Mechanical Engineering Hall is now on display in the Special Collections Library.    When Vanderbilt University opened in October 1875, classes and laboratories were all housed… Read More

In January 1849, “everybody skates” wrote Godey’s Lady’s Book editor Sarah Hale. Winter sports—skating, sledding, and snow-balling–were popular and “ladies are especially renowned for their grace and agility.”  Readers also contributed notes on medicines, recipes and fashions. See Buchanan Fellow Robby Espano’s curator statement and discover what he found… Read More

Vanderbilt Special Collections Library recently acquired the Dinah Shore Collection, documenting the life of Vanderbilt graduate Dinah Shore, BA’38, a prolific singer, actress, and talk show host widely popular throughout the 1940s-1980s. Noteworthy items include Dinah Shore fan club newsletters, publicity stills, photographs and scripts from Shore’s talk shows, and… Read More

In 1860, American readers loved Godey’s Lady’s Book for its elaborate colored fashion plates. Listen to Buchanan Library Fellow Josanda Addo’s curator statement, and hear her thoughts on the magazine’s advice to women. Content published in Godey’s Lady Book’s reflected American’s beliefs about women’s roles in society, including women’s… Read More

The Jean and Alexander Heard Libraries recently received a major archival collection, The John Birks ‘Dizzy’ Gillespie Collection, as part of the collaborative Academic Archives Purchasing Fund with the National Museum of African American Music (NMAAM) and Vanderbilt University. Dizzy Gillespie (1917-1993), an instrumental figure in the development of bebop… Read More

Vanderbilt University’s first student newspaper, the Vanderbilt Austral, published six years after the University’s founding, reveals an identity struggle between who students were and who they wanted to be. Buchanan Fellow Hannah Tsaio sees the students’ longing for an audience, expressing their desires to be heard by the administration, faculty,… Read More