NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee State Library & Archives is excited to offer their popular guided Second Saturday Tours of the new state-of-the-art building again this year, beginning Saturday, July 9. 

On the second Saturday of each month from July to October, Library & Archives staff will give guests a behind the scenes look at the new building located at 1001 Rep. John Lewis Way N. on the northeast corner of the Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park in Nashville. Tours begin every hour, on the hour, starting at 10 a.m. with the last tour beginning at 3 p.m. These events are free to the public. 

“Last year’s limited time Second Saturday tours were a great success,” said Secretary of State Tre Hargett. “We are excited to bring them back again this year to show guests what an incredible resource the Library & Archives is for our great state. I encourage anyone interested in Tennessee history and culture to take advantage of this free, family-friendly event.” 

To preserve Tennessee's history for current and future generations, the Library & Archives, a division of the Department of State, collects and preserves books, records and other documents of historical and reference value, focusing on items about Tennessee and Tennesseans.

The Library & Archives is home to many irreplaceable historical documents, including Tennessee's three Constitutions, letters from Tennessee's three presidents, records from 55 former Tennessee governors, the archives of state government, records from every Tennessee courthouse and the original records of the State of Franklin.

The Library & Archives' wide-ranging collections include more than a million photographs, 5,000 maps, 360,000 books and journals, the state's largest collection of microfilm negatives and the most comprehensive collection of Tennessee newspapers, the earliest of which date back to 1791.

The Library & Archives lobby featuring interactive exhibits highlighting the state's most precious historical documents, is open to the public Monday through Saturday, from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. CT. The library, microfilm and manuscripts reading rooms are open for research Tuesday through Saturday, from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. CT.

For more information about the Library & Archives call 615-741-2764, email ask@tsla.libanswers.com or visit sos.tn.gov/tsla.