Vanderbilt University Special Collections

The cast of a plesiosaur, a large marine reptile that lived during the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods, that was once a centerpiece of Vanderbilt’s natural history museum from the 1870s has been unearthed in the basement of Branscomb Quad. Read More

Vanderbilt University is becoming known as a place to study jazz performance and delve into jazz history through the acquisition of the extensive collections of Dizzy Gillespie, Yusef Lateef and Phil Schaap. Read More

This free exhibit is part of ongoing Sesquicentennial celebrations and features rare items from Heard Libraries' Special Collections and University Archives. Read More

The Jean and Alexander Heard Libraries have acquired the personal collection of Dom Flemons, a Grammy Award-winning songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and cultural historian whose music and research have brought greater awareness to African Americans’ extensive contributions to roots music. Flemons also will be appearing at the Blair School and NMAAM later this month. Read More

The Jean and Alexander Heard Libraries are marking the 50th anniversary of hip-hop in 2023 with the acquisition of eight prints by celebrated hip-hop illustrator and documentarian André LeRoy Davis. The prints engage critical themes in U.S. culture, from immigration and policing to identity and electoral politics. Read More

Marice Wolfe, of Nashville, the first woman to serve as Vanderbilt’s university archivist, died Jan. 3. She was 86. Read More

The Jean and Alexander Heard Libraries have acquired a collection of rare photographs of, and by, the Rev. James M. Lawson Jr., ’71—a pivotal figure in the history of the civil rights movement and Vanderbilt University. Read More