Research

Special Collections curates rare books, manuscripts, archives, photographs, theses, research, recordings, oral histories, and much more. Students, researchers, and other visitors use these materials to explore the past and create new knowledge.

Begin your research by exploring our services and collections.

Access Special Collections

Special Collections’ resources and services are available to the University community and the public. Visit Special Collections (LIB 439) during our hours of operation, use our Ask an Archivist email reference service, request digitization, or make an appointment to view physical materials in-person or virtually.

Special Collections does not circulate materials.

Search Special Collections

Special Collections makes descriptions of holdings and digital assets discoverable through Quick Search, Digital Collections, Scholar, Open Publishing, and Web Archives.

Quick Search

Quick Search includes cataloged materials, such as published materials, books, and periodicals, as well as collection-level records for Finding Aids and item-level records for Digital Collections and Scholar. Researchers use Quick search to find rare books and archival materials.

Due to the complex nature of large archival collections, researchers should consult Finding Aids to identify specific items and files. To search the full text of text-based digital assets, including transcripts for digital media holdings, researchers should search Digital Collections, Scholar, Open Publishing, and Web Archives.

Finding Aids

Finding Aids includes detailed inventories of collections that provide information about the creation, historical context, and contents of primary source materials. Researchers use Finding Aids to determine which archival collections are useful for their research.

Digital Collections

Digital Collections offers thousands of digitized items from a wide range of materials, including photographs, oral histories, correspondence, student publications, artwork, objects, and books. Researchers use Digital Collections to find and download digital surrogates of archival materials.

Scholar

Scholar offers thousands of open access research, creative works, and publications, including theses, dissertations, conference proceedings, and journals. Researchers use Scholar to find and download original research produced at the University.

Open Publishing

Open Publishing offers open textbooks authored or adopted by Faculty. Researchers use Open Publishing to find and download accessible textbooks used at the University.

Web Archives

Web Archives offers archives of University websites and pages, including campus and student publications, news releases, and publicly accessible records. Researchers use Web Archives to find archived versions of websites produced by the University.

Search Other Resources

It is common for historical records and archival repositories to have significant gaps. Contact the Local History & Genealogy Department of the Chattanooga Public Library (CPL) to inquire about their relevant resources and services. In addition to the resources at CPL, the following digital repositories may also have relevant holdings:

To find other archival materials and published materials not necessarily available online, try searching ArchiveGrid or WorldCat.

Residents of Tennessee may take advantage of resources in the Tennessee Electronic Library (TEL), including HeritageQuest Online and Newspapers.com Southeast Edition.

Members of the University community may find additional resources detailed in the Library’s Primary Sources Research Guide.

Ask an Archivist

Ask an Archivist is Special Collections’ email reference service. After searching Quick Search, Digital Collections, Scholar, Open Publishing, and Web Archives. Researchers use Ask an Archivist to ask general questions or ensure they are not missing potential resources.

Visit Special Collections

Special Collections welcomes all visitors who wish to access physical holdings in the George Connor Special Collections Reading Room. Special Collections does not require appointments but strongly recommends visitors Make an Appointment to conduct research involving archival materials.

Personal Devices

Special Collections encourages researchers to bring their personal devices to take notes and photographs for study purposes. Researchers may use their personal devices with Special Collections’ copy stand for clearer images.

Community researchers may sign up for Guest Network Access.

Virtually Visit Special Collections

Special Collections supports visitors who wish to access select physical holdings in a virtual environment. Virtual appointments are conducted on Zoom for a maximum of forty-five minutes.

Special Collections cannot accommodate materials measuring greater than 11 x 17 inches, recorded sound, or moving images in virtual appointments.

For in-depth research that requires consultation of multiple resources, visitors should plan to access physical holdings in the George Connor Special Collections Reading Room or Request Digitization.