The University of Tennessee Libraries Digital Library Initiatives department and The Great Smoky Mountains Regional Project are proud to unveil the Thompson Brothers Digital Photograph Collection, an online collection of stunning images of the Great Smoky Mountains. Prominent Knoxville-based photographers in the 1920s through the 1940s, brothers Jim and Robin Thompson began their careers at … Continued

For years, it’s been tucked away inside a jeweled pillbox in her desk drawer and taken out only when nostalgia hits. But Tina Bentrup of UT Libraries’ Interlibrary Services department has decided to share her unusual and diminutive treasure with the rest of us. Bentrup recently donated a miniature book to the Special Collections Library, … Continued

In early 2008, the University of Tennessee Libraries purchased a significant collection of materials relating to writer James Agee, a Knoxville native. Agee is best known for his Pulitzer Prize-winning autobiographical novel, A Death in the Family, and as screenwriter for the movie The African Queen. The Agee materials were originally given to the UT … Continued

University of Tennessee Special Collections Library Acquires Miniature Literature The Special Collections Library at the University of Tennessee has acquired a copy of the miniature book Orphan Willie, a story of a young boy who grows up to fight in the Union Army during the Civil War. Published in 1862, the book is 64 pages … Continued

From Pi Beta Phi to Arrowmont: Bringing Education and Economic Development tothe Great Smoky Mountains, 1910-2004 KNOXVILLE — With help from a nearly $250,000 grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the University of Tennessee Libraries recently completed a project that preserves the history of education and arts literacy in the Great Smoky … Continued

“Ascend the great staircase. Look up at the stars. See Shakespeare, Newton, Dante, and many others in gothic arched glory,” reads part of a clue guiding visitors through UT’s Hoskins Library building. This isn’t just any scavenger hunt, but rather an example of a complicated, eccentric and highly-addictive pursuit called letterboxing. Letterboxing is a kind … Continued

The Special Collections Library at the University of Tennessee recently purchased a copy of an invitation to the sudden January 1829 wedding of then-Tennessee governor Sam Houston and Eliza Allen. This rare item may be only one of its kind. Aaron Purcell, university archivist, discovered the piece on eBay.com and purchased the invitation on February … Continued

The Special Collections Library at the University of Tennessee recently purchased a copy of an invitation to the sudden January 1829 wedding of then-Tennessee governor Sam Houston and Eliza Allen. This rare item may be only one of its kind. Aaron Purcell, university archivist, discovered the piece on eBay.com and purchased the invitation on February … Continued