Welcome to Special Collections and University Archives, a division of Vanderbilt University's Jean and Alexander Heard Library System.

The mission of Special Collections and University Archives is to preserve, store and provide access to Vanderbilt University's impressive collection of rare books, manuscripts, photographs, and memorabilia. We also maintain and administer the institutional repository, DiscoverArchive, which preserves and stores the digital intellectual output of the Vanderbilt community.

Special Collections supplies primary resouce material to a variety of local, national, and international scholars each year. It houses one of the finest twentieth-century Southern literature collections in the United States and is the center for the study of the Fugitive and Agrarian literary groups. Other popular subjects include Southern history and culture, women's issues, civil rights, religious studies, and performing arts. A more extensive description of our holdings can be found on the Collections page.