Around a hundred passport applications have gone through the Nashville Public Library’s Southeast Branch since the site began operating a passport acceptance program on May 13. Angela Brady, an NPL regional manager who helped develop the program, shared progress at a Public Library Board meeting Tuesday.
“We wanted to offer this service for some time and started the process of figuring out all the procedures,” Brady told the board. “Especially being in Antioch, we have such a wonderful mix of people — having a passport acceptance agency there has been wonderful.”
Nashville does not have one of the U.S. Department of State’s 25 national passport offices, specialized facilities geographically distributed across the country that can print passports. These sites can conduct on-site interviews and expedite the unpredictable and sometimes monthslong wait that accompanies a new passport application. Renewals can be sent directly to the U.S. Department of State.Â
Antioch’s new passport acceptance program at the Southeast Branch acts as an intermediary service to streamline what can be a lengthy or confusing process, particularly for new citizens. This is Nashville’s fourth passport acceptance site (TSU and two post offices offer the service) and the first in South Nashville.
Federal officials often help constituents with the passport process. Former U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper’s constituent services office had a reputation for handling passport turnarounds when Nashvillians were in a pinch. Brady said that the program arose with prompting from Kristen Topping, currently working in constituent services for U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles, the Maury County official who succeeded Cooper in Tennessee’s redrawn 5th Congressional District. Ogles has one office in Columbia that takes meetings by appointment only.
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The Southeast Branch has five agents trained in accepting passport applications, says Brady. They work with a passport center in Charleston, S.C., to navigate a series of steps, checklists, documentation, required payments and security measures. If successful, the process delivers a passport in the mail weeks later. Each processed passport brings in $35 for the library.
“I would love to take our show on the road — some passport fairs at other branches, a Sunday afternoon at another branch where we can do walk-in appointments,” Brady said. “I would like to see, if this pilot program goes really well, that maybe some of the other regional branches would jump in and become a regional agency.”
