Tomorrow is technically always a point in the future. When it finally arrives, it’s no longer tomorrow, but today.
Tennessee
When I first moved to Tennessee, I did the touristy thing, visiting entertainment and historical sites. In those first couple of years, I covered a lot of ground. However, when I changed jobs and began traveling, much less when I bought my house and added all the responsibilities that entailed, I didn’t have—or often take—the time to play tourist.
While I wouldn’t mind seeing some sites again, there are still a few places (mostly new), I haven’t visited. One of which I learned about in late 2022 when I watched a rerun of TN Crossroads. They showcased the new Tennessee State Library and Archives (TSLA). I hadn’t even realized they were building a new facility, much less that it had opened the year before. I ended up moving without getting to visit it.
The Old Building
Years ago, I spent lots of time in the small and dark TSLA building located on the west side of the state capital. Back then parking was the main issue. There was none close by—unless you were a lawmaker.
Whether it was as bad as I remember it, or not, I let work, the lack of close parking, and other things prevent me from returning. To be honest, I simply didn’t carve out the time needed to do the research. I put it off until “tomorrow.”
Did You Know…
- The Tennessee State Library and Archives (TSLA) was established in 1854.
- Tennessee’s General Assembly joined the Department of Archives and History with the State Library in 1919 to create the State Library and Archives. Tennessee is one of only a handful of states who don’t operate these two as separate agencies.
Front of TSLA Building
The New Building
The new TSLA building is a 165,000-square-foot facility. It includes a climate-controlled chamber with a space-saving, robotic automated storage and retrieval system (ASRS) for historic books and manuscripts. It also contains a blast freezer, which allows materials damaged by insects or water to be saved. Add plenty of classrooms, large meeting spaces, other lab and storage areas, free underground parking (my favorite), knowledgeable and friendly librarians and staff, and this well-lit, open-designed building is a researcher’s dream. (For the TSLA facility fact sheet, click here.)
Did You Know…
- In 2005, planning began for a new and larger TSLA building. In 2017, funding for the new building was approved and ground was officially broken. The facility’s grand opening was held on April 12, 2021.
- Construction of the 1953 TSLA building cost $2.3 million. Construction of the 2021 building cost roughly $123.8 million.
- The TSLA is a treasure trove of print, photographic, microfilm, and audio history. It has the most comprehensive collection of Tennessee newspapers, dating back to 1791.
- The TSLA’s blast freezer freezes to -30 degrees Fahrenheit without creating harmful ice crystals.
- The ASRS can retrieve items in less than two minutes. It saved $54 million in construction costs by reducing the building’s footprint by 100,000 square feet.
- Tennessee is the first State Library and the second State Archives to use a robotic retrieval system.
My Visit
Several months ago, I began planning a trip to Tennessee. It started with a friend’s 100th birthday celebration, then grew to include doctors and dentist appointments (I haven’t yet found new ones in Texas), and, of course, visits with friends. I knew my week would be packed, but I made sure it included one day at the TSLA. I even carved out another couple of hours Friday afternoon between doctors’ appointments. Yet, I barely skimmed the surface of what I wanted to research. You might as well have pointed me to a football field covered a foot deep with old coins and told me to find all the coins from 1973. Sure, I could do it . . . but it would take a lot longer than a few hours!
Final Thoughts
Every day each of us has a list of things that need to be done. We’re constantly evaluating that list, deciding what can be put off and what can’t. Usually, there are things, like mowing the yard or vacuuming the house, that don’t result in horrible consequences if delayed. Other things, like telling someone you love them, should never be put off.
Somewhere in between these two extremes are things like me not making the time to use this state-of-the-art research facility mere minutes from my home. Realistically, I could probably have squeezed out time for a visit before I moved, but learning about it at the eleventh hour meant I had no time to do research.
Benjamin Franklin said, “Don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today.” He was right. There’s nothing worse than looking back and saying, “I wish I’d done . . .” To prevent this, I use Murphy’s Law with the things that fall between the trivial and life and death. I ask myself how I would feel if I never had the chance to do whatever it was again. (Because, according to old man Murphy, that’s exactly what is likely to happen.)
I may not have another chance to visit and research at the TSLA, but I can plan for it. Tomorrow won’t ever come, but as long as today arrives, I’ll be prepared to make the most of it.
Did You Know…
- Charles Dickens referred to procrastination as the “thief of time.”
- Martin Luther cautioned, “How soon not now, becomes never.”