Archives and Records Management
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Request for Geneaology and Historical Records
The Diocese of Nashville Archives primarily serves the needs of our diocesan offices, parishes, and agencies through assistance with research, preservation, and records management; however, we welcome research inquiries from the public and make the archives as widely available as possible.
Genealogical Investigations involving Sacramental Records of distant family or non-family members are not open to public research for records within the recent one hundred years, however Sacramental records dating prior to 1923 are available for public Genealogical Investigation.
The fee for Sacramental Genealogical Research (Records 100 years or older) is $25, payable by check, for up to three requested names. We do this research for you but limit the research to Sacramental Genealogical Research, which is related only to Sacramental Church Records and not to family tree or general genealogical research.
Non-Sacramental, General Genealogy and Historical Research qualifies as Personal Project In-House Research. You can apply to do in-person unaided research in our Archive. The fee is $40.00 per prescheduled 4-hour session payable by check. Upon project approval, our services include meeting about and coordinating your session date, pulling items of interest, loading microfilm, and copying or file sharing items approved for taking with you.
The Diocese of Nashville Archives welcomes research inquiries from the public and makes the archives as widely available as possible.
It is the responsibility of archives staff to balance researchers’ needs for access against the expectation or right of confidentiality of the persons and institutions whose activities are recorded in archives. Consequently, the Diocese of Nashville Archives abides by the following access policies:
- Some material may contain restrictions to access. Few materials are permanently restricted. Some material may be sequestered from common viewing for a certain period.
- Material will be made available in a scheduled manner in keeping with professional criteria and legal requirements.
- Other restrictions to access may be in place for unprocessed collections, fragile materials, or because of contractual stipulations through deeds of gifts, wills, or sales arrangements.
- Portions of restricted collections may still be available for public research. Requests for access to restricted collections should be made to the diocesan archivist. Appeals for denied requests should be made to the chancellor, and finally to the bishop of Nashville.
- Access is granted to public researchers as a contractual matter in which use of the material is subject to the rules of the archives, including the acceptance of its policies and procedures.
- Researchers must state the purpose of their research and identify the objectives and intended products of their research.
- Researchers must receive explicit permission of the Diocese of Nashville for the publication or reproduction of any portion of the archives, and they must credit the diocese for the same.
- The Office of Archives and Records Management may request researchers to donate a copy of their final work product to archives when significant use has been made of its primary sources.
Photocopying provisions are subject to United States Copyright Regulations. The Diocese of Nashville is the sole copyright owner of manuscript items held by the Archives Office but may not own copyright for all items in need of copying. The Diocese of Nashville assumes no responsibility for copyright infringement by researchers.
