Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies

A changing political landscape, an embattled incumbent, a charged Senate battle in the state and a race for support in the suburbs: these are the circumstances that defined the 1980 elections in Georgia.  Just one day before Election Day 2020 among similar circumstances, archivists with the University of Georgia’s Russell Library for Political Research and Studies will trace the history of the election 40 years ago that marked a dramatic moment for both the state and the nation.

The University of Georgia Libraries and the Center for Teaching and Learning invite full-time UGA faculty from all disciplines to apply to participate in the 2021 Special Collections Libraries Faculty Teaching Fellows program.

Now in its sixth year, the program brings together a select group of UGA faculty to explore archives-based learning as a high-impact learning practice through intensive workshops with specialists from the University’s three special collections units and representatives from the Center for Teaching and Learning.

Three UGA Libraries virtual events featuring film makers and writers have been named to the University of Georgia Signature Lectures series this fall.

The events include celebrations of the 25th anniversary of the Brown Media Archive and Peabody Awards Collection and the 20th anniversary of the Georgia Writers Hall of Fame. The third event, sponsored by the Russell Library for Political Research and Studies, introduces the new annual Food, Politics, and Power Lecture series.

Visitors to the University of Georgia’s Special Collections Libraries Building can explore American political campaign history through a unique traveling exhibition of posters on display this fall at the Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies.

A newly launched website for the Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies improves searchability for researchers and invites visitors to explore the Library’s collections, exhibits and events.

The construction of interstate highways transformed the landscape of the United States of America during the second half of the 20th century; the process also altered the economy, politics, and culture of the country.

A new exhibition on display at the University of Georgia’s Richard B. Russell Building Special Collections Libraries explores the origins and impact of these roads in Georgia with a focus on the political compromises and fiscal policies that made them possible.

The exhibit Paving the Road to Progress: Georgia Interstate Highways is now on display in the Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies’ gallery. It traverses the rocky path of the interstate system’s development, which cost far more and took much longer than predicted.

Twelve University of Georgia faculty members have been chosen as 2019-2020 Special Collections Fellows. The fifth cohort of the program represents six schools and colleges with interests ranging from art and education to social work and population health.

Sponsored by the University of Georgia Libraries and the Center for Teaching and Learning, the program guides faculty members as they develop courses that apply archives-centered pedagogy and allow their students to engage with the rich array of materials held in UGA’s three special
collections libraries.

The exhibition hall in the University of Georgia’s Richard B. Russell Building Special Collections Libraries will be named in honor of CNN founder, environmentalist and longtime Atlantan Ted Turner, subject to UGA Cabinet approval, thanks in part to a $550,000 donation made by WarnerMedia (formerly Time Warner), an entertainment and media conglomerate that merged with Turner Broadcasting in 1996.

Century-old stories of exploited Georgia prisoners have been lifted from the University of Georgia Libraries’ vault to the gallery and now to the stage, through a collaboration among archivists, faculty members and students at UGA and Spelman College.

Through the partnership, students and faculty have engaged with dozens of artifacts and historical documents to create [The Georgia Incarceration Performance Project], which will culminate in performances this fall and winter.

A statewide initiative is underway to document the contributions the Latino and Hispanic communities have made to the landscape of modern Georgia politics.

The project is being spearheaded by the Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies at the University of Georgia Libraries and the Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials and GALEO Latino Community Development Fund.

To ensure the most comprehensive documentation and accessibility of the political history of all of Georgia’s citizens, the Russell Library and GALEO will work to identify and document people and organizations representing the interests of the Latino and Hispanic communities. This effort will preserve traditional records and manuscripts and capture oral histories with elected officials, activists and business leaders.