General Library News

Applications are now open for the inaugural AI and Data Studio Partners Program at the University of Georgia Libraries, where faculty and other scholars will come together across campus to explore the opportunities, challenges, and implications of artificial intelligence for their professional practice.

The program, which is in partnership with the Center for Teaching and Learning, will include parallel cohorts focusing on research and instruction, and is open to faculty on every spectrum of the AI debate, from skeptics to superusers.

The University of Georgia Press is pleased to announce that author Jon Boorstin will visit the University of Georgia to discuss his book The American: The Hidden History of Daniel J. Boorstin and His Twentieth Century.

A new exhibit at the University of Georgia Special Collections Libraries tells the 100-year history of women’s tennis at UGA from its recreational status in the 1920s to three national championships in 2025 and 2026.

In the same spaces where scholars have learned to evaluate sources and enhance knowledge for decades, University of Georgia students will now engage in thinking critically about information in the age of artificial intelligence with the launch of the AI & Data Studio at the Main Library.

Located on the library's third floor, the Studio reimagines a learning space previously dedicated as a hub for research-focused data analysis and visualization. In partnership with the UGA Office of Instruction and EITS, UGA Libraries will launch additional services and programming devised to help students develop judgment and understanding of AI and how to use it in ethical and responsible ways, when appropriate.

Names and stories of more than 4,500 Georgians who were enslaved can now be discovered by future generations as part of a University of Georgia Libraries project to discover, digitize, and describe pre-Civil War archival materials.

Archivists and students at UGA’s Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library recently completed the “Finding Their Names” project, supported by a $137,000 National Historical Publications and Records Commission grant to center the lives of enslaved individuals in the historic record.

The sounds and images of Athens’ music scene during the heyday of bands like R.E.M. and The B-52s will return to the big screen this September, appearing more vibrant thanks to a crowd-funded University of Georgia Libraries project to restore the 1986 documentary Athens, GA: Inside/Out.

For the 40^th anniversary of the film, the Brown Media Archives and Peabody Awards Collection will host two free community screenings on Thursday, Sept. 24 featuring an introduction by filmmaker Bill Cody, who donated the original 16 mm film and all accompanying negative and sound elements to UGA Libraries’ special collections archive. Tickets to the shows, scheduled for 5:15 and 7 p.m., can be reserved at Cine’s website or at the box office.

The University of Georgia Press is pleased to announce a new endowment to support the publication and promotion of the winners of the Flannery O'Connor Award for Short Fiction.

The Debbie and John Edwards Endowment has been established to cover all costs for the award-winning short story collections that are published every fall, including editorial, design, and marketing costs. The $100,000 gift from UGA Press Advisory Council Chair Debbie Edwards and her husband John will also support author travel to Georgia for book launch events, advertising, and help expand overall visibility for the distinguished award that has been sponsored by UGA Press for over four decades.

The University of Georgia Press is pleased to announce a new endowment to support its undergraduate internship program in book publishing. The Candler Family Experiential Learning Scholarship Fund will provide funding for the university press’s paid experiential learning opportunities for UGA students.

The UGA Press has enjoyed a long relationship with the Candler family. Peter Candler Sr. and Shannon Ilges Candler are founding members of the Press’s Advisory Council. Following their retirement, son Pete Candler joined the council in 2018.

The $100,000 gift from the Ilges Foundation was matched by $50,000 from the UGA Foundation as part of a university-wide scholarship campaign.

“It is truly an honor to be able to support the Press in this way. We are so grateful for all of you and the heroic work you do,” said Pete Candler on behalf of the Candler family.

Behind-the-scenes stories of Hollywood celebrities will be on display at the University of Georgia Special Collections Libraries through an exhibit of the life and work of photographer Nancy Ellison.

In the display, Ellison’s stories come to life through her portraits and scenes from movie sets featuring legendary actors from Harrison Ford and Jack Nicholson to Sharon Stone, along with other icons of the era such as Mick Jagger and Hillary Clinton.

Continuing his support to the state’s college students five years after his retirement, former University System of Georgia Chancellor Steve Wrigley and his wife Lynne dedicated a study room at the University of Georgia’s Miller Learning Center.

The Wrigley Study is located in the busiest academic building on campus, a UGA Libraries facility named for late Georgia Governor and U.S. Senator Zell Miller. Wrigley served as Governor Miller’s chief of staff for five years.

“Without question, the University of Georgia and our state have benefitted as a result of Steve’s dedication to excellence and long-standing commitment to serving the public good,” UGA President Jere W. Morehead said at the naming ceremony. “Steve and Lynne’s generosity has touched so much of the university’s campus, and their investment in our libraries will leave a legacy that will benefit the UGA community for generations to come.”