The Main Library:
Nashville's Civic Living Room
EST. 2001
About This Case Study
The intent of this case study is to examine how the Main Library was envisioned, designed, approved, funded, and built as a public-private partnership, particularly with the Nashville Public Library Foundation (NPLF). The Main Library, which opened on June 9, 2001, was part of what then Mayor Phil Bredesen named the city's "civic furniture". As such, the Main Library, situated in the city's downtown, occupies an important place in the development and identity of Nashville. This case study focuses on the major figures in the quest to build "a great library" in a great city - Nashville (NPLF, 2004).
Tari Hughes - Current President, Nashville Public Library Foundation on the vision of the downtown library from different perspectives
Purpose
Building the case
This case study seeks to address the importance and collaborative process of building Nashville’s Main Library as a central piece of Nashville’s civic furniture. Three graduate students* from Lipscomb University’s Nelson and Sue Andrews Institute for Civic Leadership sought to address this question. During the period from late February through March 2014, this library research team coordinated and collected data for the case study of the Nashville Public Library. Data included both primary and secondary sources, most notably, seven in-person interviews with key players involved in the creation of the Main Library. In arranging interviews, the researchers sought to meet with individuals that represented a diversity of perspectives on the new downtown library, including public and private sector representation. In the project’s early stages, researchers visited the Nashville Main Library.
Resources procured in the Main Library’s Nashville Room were of particular benefit for this case study. In addition, the researchers viewed a DVD produced in 2004 by the Nashville Public Library Foundation called 100 Years: One Vision - A century of service: NPL which surveys one hundred years of the Nashville Public Library system from 1904 to 2004. Several of the key players were interviewed in this film, which laid a foundation for researchers’ interview questions and initial research.In terms of methodology, the process of coordinating and executing these interviews entailed e-mail communication and in-person interviews.
*Researchers
Kathleen Fuchs
Mohamed-Shukri Hassan
Karen Vander Molen
"This work is important."
-Donna Nicely
Donna Nicely on the importance of this case study
Process
Getting the interviews
Initially, the researchers met with Linda Schacht, Executive Director of the Nelson and Sue Andrews Institute for Civic Leadership on February 25, 2014 to discuss the library project and to gain an understanding of the case study’s scope as well as the major players in the development of Nashville’s Main Library. Schacht connected the group with some of these keys leaders and oriented the leaders to the case study project and introduced the Lipscomb students. As a result, e-mails were exchanged and appointments were subsequently made for in-person interviews. Interview questions were posed by the library research group members. At least two out of three group members facilitated each interview. A flip video camera or iPad was used to capture the interviews, and interviewers took notes as well. Interviews were held in the Main Library, Green Hills Library, at Lipscomb University, or in interviewee’s offices. All interviews were completed during March 2014.
Limitations
Suggestions for future studies
A major limitation of this study is the limited timeframe in which it was completed. If time and access permitted, there could have been more people consulted about this chapter in Nashville’s history. Another shortcoming of this case study is a lack of data and statistics on the library’s circulation and patronage. These data would more fully present the picture of the Main Library, confirming the impact and success of the Main Library on Nashville and its residents. With these considerations, the researchers feel fortunate that key figures in this project were available and willing to be interviewed, and that great efforts have been made to preserve and promote the library’s history.