Special Collections News

University of Georgia Libraries locations, including the Miller Learning Center, will expand hours of operation this fall to provide more in-person options for students and patrons during the 2021-2022 academic year.

The Miller Learning Center, the busiest academic building on campus, will be open for 24-hours a day on weekdays, beginning August 18. During weekends, the building will close at midnight Friday night and reopen at 10 a.m. Saturday morning, closing again at midnight Saturday night to reopen at 10 a.m. Sunday morning, before returning to the 24-hour schedule.

A rain barrel might seem out of place inside a museum, but it serves as a learning tool at the University of Georgia Special Collections Libraries, helping community members from toddlers to seniors to learn about the centuries-long struggles with drinkable water in Georgia.

The authors of a new book that explores the lives of Georgians who were enslaved by a prominent Athens family in the 19th century will discuss the research that brought the story to light in a virtual book discussion.

Two University of Georgia Libraries leaders have been reappointed to the Georgia Historical Records Advisory Council.

Gov. Brian Kemp recently named University Librarian P. Toby Graham to the 12-member advisory board, along with Sheryl Vogt, director of the Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies, one of the Libraries’ three special collections units.

While millions of readers have enjoyed the works of Emily Dickinson or read Aesop’s fables in mass-produced paperbacks, the University of Georgia Special Collections Libraries is offering a glimpse at rare books that go beyond the words to become artistic statements themselves.

UGA Libraries will be open and ready to serve the campus community throughout the summer. Librarians, archivists and staff will be available for help, research consultations and other activities — both in person and online — for students, faculty, and others, whether they are taking summer classes, preparing for the fall semester, working on independent projects, or have other needs.

Books that explore how historic government policies on voting rights and reparations have marginalized Black communities are the 2021 recipients of the Lillian Smith Book Awards, administered by the University of Georgia Libraries to honor books dedicated to social justice issues.

From his cowboy hat to his Lifetime Achievement Emmy Award and his World Series trophy, the life of CNN founder and environmentalist Ted Turner is on display at the University of Georgia Special Collections Libraries.

UGA’s Hargrett Library invites families to travel back in time and explore life in the 15^th century, as they learn about the current exhibit “The Hargrett Hours: Exploring Medieval Manuscripts.” Children can make crafts with free craft kits and participate in medieval story time and a virtual exhibit tour through a family day website.

In 1848, William and Ellen Craft fled Georgia in disguise — and for 19 years, left the country — to escape slavery and become activists for freedom, literacy and education for Black Americans before and after the Civil War.

Nearly 175 years later, their names will be permanently etched at the heart of the birthplace of public higher education in the United States, with two study rooms in the Main Library of the University of Georgia dedicated in the couple’s honor. Along with the naming of two adjoining study rooms for Mary Blount Bowen Green, a little-known white schoolteacher from the same community, the markers will celebrate Georgians who worked to build a better future for the students of today.