Tennessee Electronic Library

The Tennessee Electronic Library (TEL) is a virtual library that you can access from your home computer, school computer lab, or smartphone – anywhere with an Internet connection.

Access to over 400,000 electronic resources including magazines, scholarly journals, podcasts, videos, e-books, test preparation materials, federal census records, Tennessee primary source materials, and more can all be found here.

All types of nonprofit libraries participate in TEL and benefit from the wide range of information TEL databases offer, including homework help to new readers, consumer health information, business resources, leisure reading suggestions, current event essays, academic and civil service test preparation help, and genealogy and family history sources.

Over 1.2 million searches are performed each month across the various TEL databases. Since 1999, the Tennessee Electronic Library has been dedicated to providing equal access to this expansive collection of electronic resources for all Tennesseans.

The mission of the Tennessee Electronic Library is to provide convenient and equitable access to library and information resources for all citizens of Tennessee to enhance the quality of their everyday lives, the depth of their educational experience, and the economic prosperity of their communities.

The Tennessee Electronic Library is made possible through funding provided by the General Assembly of the State of Tennessee and the Institute of Museum and Library Services. TEL is administered by the Tennessee State Library and Archives, a division of the Office of the Secretary of State, Secretary Tre Hargett.