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Extracted from
scope statement and collection policies of Special Collections/Univ.
Archives of the Paul Meek Library, University of Tennessee
at Martin, June, 2003. |
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West
Tennessee Heritage Study Center collection
This unit includes primary service copies of works (primarily
monographs but also serials) relating to the natural and
social history, the governance, and family history of our
areas of interest, as defined below. Both current and out-of-print
titles are acquired, including original impressions and
reprinted editions when possible. Reproductions, including
photocopy, are secured when the originals are unavailable
and when copyright laws are not infringed. If the Library
holds both a reproduction copy and an original volume, the
original will be removed to either the Special Collections
general stacks or Rare Books at the curator's discretion.
Relevant materials with substantial intrinsic value are
housed in the Rare Books unit and will be subject to the
strictures covering the use of those materials.
Core
Area
Our core interest region is defined by Tennessee administrative
policy as "Northwest Tennessee" (Benton, Carroll,
Crockett, Dyer, Gibson, Henry, Lake, Obion, and Weakley
counties) but includes Kentucky's "river counties"
of Hickman, Carlisle, and Fulton as well. We will acquire
all material in any format (cookbooks excepted) relating
to this core area, including books and periodicals, microfilmed
public records, local newspapers, primary source material,
and telephone directories. Manuscript material will be housed
and curated by the Manuscripts section.
Focus
Area
An extended focus area for the collection includes the state
of Tennessee beyond the collection's core area, with particular
attention directed toward the rest of west Tennessee and
western Kentucky as bounded by the major rivers (east of
the Mississippi, south of the Ohio, west of the Tennessee
rivers) and the Tennessee-Mississippi border. We will collect
all printed materials but only select microfilmed public
records, not including newspapers, from this smaller region.
For rest of the counties and state at large only federal
census film and printed material of documentary value will
be acquired. Special emphasis is placed on acquiring local
histories and genealogical sources. The military history
of units and combatants from Tennessee or which fought here
during the U.S. Civil War, or works relating to the state
that do not fall under these categories (such as fiction)
will be housed in the department's General Stacks. State
and local history materials acquired by the Department and
housed elsewhere in the library because of record type (such
as microfilmed newspapers, city directories, or county censuses)
fall within this collection policy. This focus interest
includes printed material on the natural history of the
state, as well as , local, and social history and genealogy.
Regional Area
States and regions with cultural or social ties to Tennessee
form an area of regional interest within in the collection,
including northwestern Arkansas, the Missouri boot heel,
northern Mississippi, and North Carolina. We collect printed
material selectively from this region, relating primarily
to family history research.
General Interest
The collection selectively acquires works of general genealogical
significance, including reference works for research in
other U. S. states or countries, genealogical helps, and
other topics relating to family history. Resources will
be expended only for works of a general nature in the field
of genealogy and on items within the regional focus; works
from any time or relative to any location may be included
in the collection as gifts at the discretion of the curator.
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