Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies

I met Tom Crawford on the third-floor landing of the Hull Street Parking Deck early one morning late last August. We had arrived almost simultaneously for our scheduled interview, and Tom had paused at the landing to knot his burgundy, patterned necktie. We walked together up the slope to Russell Special Collections Libraries building where we spent the remainder of the morning and early afternoon discussing history, politics, and the business of covering politics.

Is America better served by a free trade agenda or protectionist measures? Author C. Donald Johnson will examine the history of trade politics, the focus of his new book from Oxford University Press, in a lecture on Tuesday, April 17 at 4 p.m. in the large event space of the Richard B. Russell Building Special Collections Libraries.

Can the American Congress be ethical in an age of intense partisan warfare? Princeton University professor and CNN political analyst Julian E. Zelizer will take up the topic of ethics in Congress on Thursday, April 5 at 4 p.m. in the auditorium of the Richard B. Russell Building Special Collections Libraries.

The University of Georgia Libraries have suspended tours and community events in the Richard B. Russell Building Special Collections Libraries through March 29.

The decision is in accordance with the University System of Georgia decision to suspend classes at UGA and other universities amid the COVID-19 outbreak.

The building houses the operations of the Libraries’ three special collections units, the Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Russell Library for Political Research and Studies, and Brown Media Archive. Research activities will continue by appointment only.

In addition, the Georgia Capitol Museum, a unit of the Russell Library at the Capitol in Atlanta, is closed for tours.

For updates, visit libs.uga.edu.

What do the U.S. Navy, the National School Lunch Program, and the former Soviet Union have in common? Why, peanuts of course!

Local chefs will once again take on the School Lunch Challenge March 24, creating tasty dishes that meet USDA requirements for the National School Lunch Program. Attendees will have a chance to sample the creations at the cooking competition from 12-1:30 p.m. in the cafeteria of Whitehead Road Elementary School.  

“White Ribbon Army: Women’s Crusade Against the Saloon” takes a look at the Temperance Movement of the 19th century.

The exhibit, in the galleries of the Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library through May, draws material from several collections and is sponsored by the Lucy Hargrett Draper Center & Archives for the Study of the Rights of Women in History & Law (circa 1550-1920).

As the United States became urbanized and industrialized, many became concerned with social issues such as poverty and the perception of declining morals. A series of social and religious reforms, including the Temperance Movement, swept the country.

The University of Georgia, including the Russell Special Collections Libraries, will be closed Monday, Jan. 15 in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

The Russell Special Collections Libraries will be closed for winter break beginning Saturday, Dec. 23. The Libraries, along with the rest of the University of Georgia, will re-open Jan. 2. 

Happy Holidays!