General Library News

As part of the UGA Libraries’ commitment to affordable access to learning materials, the Libraries recently ceased the collection of late fees from students who return overdue books.

“Overdue book fines are educational materials costs borne directly by our students. Those with the least ability to pay feel the effect of fines most keenly, as do graduate students who are particularly heavy users of the Libraries’ print collections,” said Toby Graham, associate provost and university librarian. “This step will save students about $25,000 per year.”

A new exhibit at the Special Collections Libraries chronicles the journey of students advocating for a more inclusive learning environment at the University of Georgia over the past six decades.

Even in black and white with no audio, a home movie of families gathering and men playing trombones and marching to the beat of bass drums through the streets of Augusta, Georgia, present a vivid picture of a community often underrepresented in archival and historical materials.

UGA students can earn more than an A by meeting with a librarian. They can also win some cash, thanks to the Libraries’ Undergraduate Research Awards.

With a top prize of $800, the awards provide an extra incentive for students to sign up for a free online research consultation with a librarian. Students are eligible to enter the contest for their work on any research project, including a policy paper, a scientific study, a music composition, a thesis, whether it is for a class or not.

All of the tools that students need to write dynamic papers and create innovative projects will be on display in a series of workshops from the University of Georgia Libraries.

In the Spring into Research workshop series, librarians and staff will lead virtual discussions on navigating library resources, from the latest online journals to historical material held in digital archives, as well as using citation management software and technologies available for data visualization, map-making, virtual reality, and more.

Before Fatoumata Toure entered kindergarten, she learned a hard lesson about the importance of fresh drinking water. Now as a college freshman, she has earned the top prize in the Capturing Science Contest, sponsored by the University of Georgia Libraries and the Office of Research, for making an informative and innovative video to explain the science behind the concerns.

Toure, a North Cobb High School graduate who intends to major in environmental engineering, received the top prize of $1,000, as well as a special bonus prize of $200 for this year’s contest for integrating research related to social justice in her piece.

It’s one thing to read and study medieval stories, but it’s another for students to touch, translate and research 600-year-old manuscripts. Thanks to an innovative series of classes called The Hargrett Hours Project hosted at the University of Georgia Special Collections Libraries, students had that opportunity, and now their work is on display in the building’s galleries.

An exhibit, “The Hargrett Hours: Exploring Medieval Manuscripts,” presents the insights students gained while investigating medieval manuscripts in the collections of the Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library. The display includes original items from the collections, dating back centuries, as well as the findings from the students’ in-depth study of a Book of Hours.

To celebrate the 60th anniversary of desegregation at the University of Georgia, the University of Georgia Press, the New Georgia Encyclopedia, the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, and the Mary Frances Early College of Education announce a Campus Read of An Education in Georgia: Charlayne Hun

In commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the desegregation of the University of Georgia, the Main Library at UGA is hosting an exhibit that chronicles the historic events of 1961, when Hamilton Holmes and Charlayne Hunter (now Hunter-Gault) became the first African American students admitted to the university.

Honored guests, including the Holmes family and members of the UGA Black Alumni Council, were among the first to tour the exhibit, entitled Georgia Trailblazers: Honoring the 60th Anniversary of Desegregation at UGA, on the day it opened, Jan. 9, 2021, the 60^th anniversary of Holmes’ and Hunter’s enrollment.

Historical aerial photography indexes that chronicle changing land use in all of Georgia’s 159 counties from the 1930s to 1990s are now available freely online.