New Tennessee State Library Breaks Ground

NASHVILLE, TN -- After years of delays and appeals from the Secretary of State's office, a new Tennessee State Library & Archives broke ground Monday.

Located near the already under-construction new state museum in the northwest corner of the Bicentennial Mall, the $50 million facility was included in this year's state budget. Secretary of State Tre Hargett had urged the legislature for years to fund construction, as the existing library and archives is 65 years old and was dangerously low on space.

Some lawmakers argued that because of digitization, more space was unnecessary, but in a rare moment of lobbying for the Secretary of State, a position that is elected by the General Assembly but typically remains above the fray of political squabbles, Hargett issued a fairly strongly worded statement in May calling out misconceptions of lawmakers.

"The most damaging misconception of all is that a new building is just a 'want,' not a 'need.' The Library and Archives is required by state law to store official state records and make them available to the public. The staff there doesn’t have the option of hanging up a 'no vacancy' sign when more records arrive at its doorstep," Hargett wrote.

The new TSLA will be complete in the fall of 2019.

Image via Tennessee Secretary of State