Date of tip : March 2006
Source: Heather Dichter, heather.dichter@utoronto.ca
Location: Eskind Biomedical Library, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN
Contact Details: Telephone: (+1) 615-343-9617
How to get there: Most airlines fly into Nashville, including Southwest. Nashville is also accessible from most directions with the interstate highway system. The archives are on Vanderbilt’s campus, which is a compact part of the city (and not in the downtown sector). A cab from the airport to campus is about $25-30.
Language: English
Getting started: Email the archives in advance. As it is a newer archive, they are really excited to help out scholars. You do not need any ID, but make sure they know when you will arrive – the archive is in the basement of the library, and you cannot access the library without a Vandy ID – but the archivists will let the front desk know to expect you on your arrival day.
Opening Hours: 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. (though ask the archivists when they will arrive and leave each day, because you might be able to get started a bit earlier, but you might have to leave a bit early one day depending on the archivists’ schedule).
General working conditions: The archive is basically one room in the basement. There is a table where you can work (and plug in your laptop). The copier is right next to the table, so you can make copies at your convenience. There is wireless, but you need a Vanderbilt ID to get onto the system (so if you know someone at Vandy, you are in luck). You can, however, go upstairs to the main floor of the library and access the internet without a Vandy ID.
Consultation: There is no limit to the amount of material you can request to see. The archivists will bring up a few boxes at a time for you to go through at your own pace, and bring more as needed.
Policy on technology: Lap tops are allowed. I did not ask about digital cameras or scanners.
Photocopy policy: The first 100 pages are on the house, but then afterwards it is 10 cents/page. They just ask that you count up your pages and at the end settle up. You can pay with cash or a credit card (Visa or Mastercard). If the archivists make copies for you (which they can do if you can’t make it to the archives, or run out of time), it is 25 cents/page.
Particularities: There is a café next door in the VA hospital, but it’s not cheap. If you bring your food you can just eat at another desk so you don’t get any crumbs on the files. The INA is not the nicest of archives, as you really do feel like someone just stuck you in the leftover space in the basement, but the archivists are extremely helpful.
How to apply for classified files: Some of the files contain patient records, and most likely you will not gain access to those files. If there is an application process, the archivists will let you know. You can read the privacy policy at http://vumcpolicies.mc.vanderbilt.edu/E-Manual/Hpolicy.nsf/AllDocs/76DAE7DE43BC826486256F50006A98AA
Contact name in case of questions regarding classified files: The archivist with whom I mostly dealt, not necessarily regarding classified files, is Jeremy Nordmoe -- jeremy.nordmoe@Vanderbilt.Edu
Etc: If you are lucky, Oakley Ray, who basically founded the archives, will want to meet you and take you out to lunch. There is also a grant that can help cover research costs – ask the archivists to send you the information.
Places to Stay: I stayed at the Holiday Inn at Vanderbilt’s campus – right next to the football stadium. There are cheaper places to stay, but you can walk to the archives from there (about 10 minutes).