Special Collections News

The University of Georgia and University of Florida might be rivals on the football field, but they are partners in providing public access to government information.

UGA Libraries and the George A. Smathers Libraries at the University of Florida have been designated as a shared regional depository library by the U.S. Government Publishing Office, a move that modernizes efforts to provide access to government reports by allowing libraries to tailor their resources to meet their patrons needs while collaborating to maintain access to comprehensive collections.

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.

The University of Georgia’s Brown Media Archives & Peabody Awards Collection will celebrate the importance of home movies with a weeklong series of virtual events, including family activities and a rarely seen private look at the early days of Athens rock band The B-52s.

Stephanie Jenkins and Salimah El-Amin describe their jobs as “Indiana Jones, but for nerds.” The archival researchers for Ken Burns’ Florentine Films go on searches for the “Holy Grail” of still and moving images that can help build a documentary that touches and teaches viewers.

The UGA Libraries invites students to compete in the Fourth Annual Capturing Science Contest. The competition, co-sponsored by the Office of Research, offers cash prizes for students who convey STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) concepts in creative and compelling projects that range from artistic endeavors to classroom activities, games and videos. The deadline for virtual submissions is 5 p.m. Dec. 7, 2020.

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.

The University of Georgia Libraries will celebrate the 25^th anniversary of one of its special collections this fall with a series of virtual events that highlight the Walter J. Brown Media Archive & Peabody Awards Collection’s contributions to media preservation, scholarship and film-making.

In a virtual ceremony, the University of Georgia Libraries, Southern Regional Council, and other partners will honor the top new books exploring social justice on Sept. 6, as part of the AJC Decatur Book Festival, which is set to be held virtually over Labor Day weekend.

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.