Students interact with Special Collections
Outreach and Engagement through the Betsey B. Creekmore Special Collections and University Archives
by Jennifer Beals
July 6, 2020  •  3 minute read

Faculty and staff in Special Collections provide a number of outreach services to UT students, faculty, administration, and alumni in addition to community members, visiting scholars, and professional colleagues each year.


Fast Facts: 2018-2019 Academic Year

  • Special collections conducted 273 detailed research consultations and answered 535 reference questions.
  • 336 researchers visited the reading room to use our primary resource collections for class assignments, research publications, and personal interest.
  • 646 requests were received for materials from our offsite storage.
  • 1,366 undergraduate students and 85 graduate students participated in a classroom instruction session.
  • 37 programs were held with over 1500 people attending. 
Chart of Outreach Efforts from Special Collections

Event and Program Highlights

  • The book release party for the UT Libraries’ limited-edition letterpress book, The Spot Marked Alpine: A Story of Names, Mountains, and Men, by Ken Wise and Anne Bridges
  • 10th anniversary party for the Modern Political Archives housed at the Howard Baker Center
  • Boundless event with singer, songwriter, and poet R.B. Morris
  • Preservation Week activities

Exhibit Curation: 2018-2019 Academic Year

Elaine Altman Evans Exhibit Area

Students interact with Special Collections

Special Collections Reading Room

Betsey B. Creekmore classroom


Students from the art, architecture, English, history, sociology, and theatre departments all participated in classroom instruction that was both innovative and hands-on. Topics included artist books, color theory, lithography, Tennessee writers, Shakespeare, medieval history, the Smoky Mountains, Renaissance drama, and so much more. There were so many reasons that researchers used the Special Collections materials at UT Libraries, and we look forward to the opportunity to help more people during the Fall Semester — and beyond.

Why Research with Special Collections Chart