Blogs & Podcasts

Find early literacy tips and children's books on the Children's Blog. Discover your next great read on the Books Movies Music Blog. Dig into Nashville history with the Community History Blog. Listen to stories, history, and culture on NPL Podcasts. Please see this Note for Readers.

Emancipation Records for James Hendricks

Of the various projects that we work on in Metro Archives, the Nashville Enslaved and Free People of Color Database is one we started several years ago, and are still actively adding to. If you're interested in learning more about what the database includes and how to use it, please read on. 

Podcast
Family Folktales logo

The Arabian Nights Entertainments, Part 12

Welcome to The Arabian Nights Entertainments! This is the twelfth of 16 parts that make up Andrew Lang’s The Arabian Nights Entertainments. In this series, you’ll hear some familiar stories, some new stories, and even stories within stories.

Today we have two stories nested inside a third: The Adventures of Haroun-al-Raschid, Caliph of Bagdad, The Story of the Blind Baba-Abdalla, and  The Story of Sidi-Nouman.  

Headshot of Ashley Bryan. He is an older African American man with white hair and a mustache,

During a career spanning over six decades, Ashley Bryan (1923-3022) illustrated more than 70 children's picture books in a variety of media and in several genres. 

Beth Deeb

Join Us as We Celebrate Women’s History Month by Recognizing a Few of the Amazing Ladies Who Call our Library Home

Podcast

Righteous Rituals

We stay seeking practices that anchor us in focus and feel good. One of us finds peace in household plants, the other power walks through the greenways in the city. Whatever works! Truth is, sometimes we neglect the righteous rituals when life swerves, dips, and shimmies. Name the nuance-  romance, vacation, jobs, care taking- then watch our elevation routines lose luster and priority. What rituals do you need to dust off and give new life? What practices will you restore for your own satisfaction? 

Children's books provide a wonderful opportunity to spark discussions about race and antiracism with children. By learning about one another, listening, and practicing non-violent communication, we can teach our kids the importance of cultivating empathy.

Podcast
Family Folktales logo

The Arabian Nights Entertainments, Part 11

Welcome to The Arabian Nights Entertainments! This is the eleventh of 16 parts that make up Andrew Lang’s The Arabian Nights Entertainments. In this series, you’ll hear some familiar stories, some new stories, and even stories within stories.

This is a story you’ve heard before – Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp. But there’s more to it than you may have heard!

Nashville City Cemetery

This year marks the 200th anniversary of the founding of Nashville's oldest continuously-operated public cemetery - the Nashville City Cemetery. Nestled quaintly on the northeast side of Fort Negley and just off 4th Ave S, the cemetery might seem like only a quiet piece of Nashville's history, with only the graves of many Nashvillians. But if it could speak, it would have many interesting anecdotes to tell.