The Rutherford County Library System has announced a new partnership with the Rutherford County Archives.

RCLS Director of Libraries Rita Shacklett and Rutherford County Archivist John Lodl began work on a potential collaboration of the RCLS’s Historical Research Room (located in Linebaugh Public Library) and the Rutherford County Archives in 2008.

With the building of the new judicial building, the county has recently expanded the archive facility to house additional records. After the expansion, talks were revisited about the dream to house both collections under the same roof. Library officials are pleased to announce that both the RCLS Board of Directors and the Rutherford County Commission have approved the venture for the creation of the Historical Research Center to be housed at the Archives building at 435 Rice St. in Murfreesboro.

Linebaugh employee Lisa Ramsay will move in tandem with the collection to run the new RCLS branch. This will allow for one-stop research, since library patrons are often referred to the archives, and vice versa. Many of the original documents RCLS has in print and digital format are located at the Rutherford County Archives. The archives staff have specialized knowledge not only in researching local history and documents but also the preservation of those documents, while the RCLS team has not only the research knowledge but the expertise to catalog and organize the materials giving those who visit the best of both worlds.

The current Historical Research Room at Linebaugh Public Library will be closed to the public to prepare for the move. Materials will be made available again as soon as possible after the move, occurring during the first two weeks of August. Hours for the new Historical Research Center on Rice Street will be Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. An open house will be planned for a still-to-be-scheduled date in September to celebrate the new partnership.

For more information on Linebaugh Public Library, call 615-962-7424 or visit rclstn.org.