Library
Nashville Public Library
Davidson County's public library system, with 21 locations led by the Main Library downtown; cards are free to county residents and can be issued online.
Nashville Public Library is the public library system of Davidson County. It has 21 locations: the Main Library on Church Street downtown and branches across the county. Nashville’s first public library, the Howard Library, opened in 1898.
A card is free for anyone who lives in Davidson County and can be applied for online or in person. People who live outside the county but within the library’s service area can get a free card for borrowing physical items.
Alongside lending, the library holds book clubs and story times at its branches, and its Special Collections Division at the Main Library holds local history collections, among them the Nashville Banner Collection; materials are used in its reading room and do not circulate. The Main Library also has the Civil Rights Room and the Votes for Women Room, a permanent exhibit. Recordings of its Nashville Reads and Literary Award lectures are on its YouTube channel.
Sources
- https://library.nashville.gov/get-card21 locations; cards free to Davidson County residents; online application; limited free card for the wider service area.
- https://library.nashville.gov/locationsMain Library address.
- https://library.nashville.gov/services/writers-roomsFour Writer's Rooms on the Main Library's third floor, by application.
- https://library.nashville.gov/aboutHoward Library, Nashville's first public library, established 1898.
- https://library.nashville.gov/research/special-collectionsSpecial Collections Division at the Main Library; Civil Rights Room and Votes for Women Room; Nashville Banner and other collections, used in a reading room.