Hargrett Rare Book & Manuscript Library

Deborah Blum, celebrated author of The Poisoner’s Handbook and The Poison Squad, will return to Athens, where her investigative journalism career began, for a discussion about the science and safety of food.

The Sept. 23 event, which has been designated as a University of Georgia Signature Lecture, will serve as Blum’s induction into the Georgia Writers Hall of Fame, as well as the annual Food, Power, and Politics Lecture sponsored by the Russell Library for Political Research and Studies.

University of Georgia Associate Provost & University Librarian Toby Graham has announced the appointment of Dr. Ashton Ellett as the director of the Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies.

Ellett, who has served as the Russell Library’s politics and public policy archivist since 2018, will also oversee the Georgia Capitol Museum in Atlanta as part of his new role. He succeeds Sheryl Vogt, who recently retired after marking 50 years with the Russell Library, one of three special collections units within the University of Georgia Libraries.

‘Listen to reason, the season is calling’

Film footage and audio from the early days of R.E.M. and other iconic rock bands from Athens will be digitally restored to preserve the nostalgia while sharing with the next generation, thanks to donors to a University of Georgia Libraries campaign currently under way.

A $300,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities will allow for the expansion of the Georgia Historic Newspapers website, which provides free online access to more than 1,000 newspapers across the state dating as far back as 1763.

The grant continues a decade-long effort of the University of Georgia Libraries, through the Digital Library of Georgia, to provide online access to a diverse array of journalism chronicling communities large and small, from Atlanta to Americus, and beyond.

As the University of Georgia marks the 100^th anniversary of its first swim and dive, the rich history of the program will be celebrated in a new exhibit on display at the UGA Special Collections Libraries. 

The exhibit “Sustained Excellence: A History of UGA Swim & Dive” explores the program’s decades of dominance in the pool and in the classroom. Viewers will see rarely displayed photographs and artifacts from the UGA Athletic Association archive and the personal collection of retired coach Jack Bauerle.

For UGA Libraries, Thomas May’s job centers around film and audiovisual work, but the archivist also enjoys the printed word. In fact, he was named one of the best authors in the state, as a recipient of a 2025 Georgia Author of the Year Award in the science fiction/fantasy category.

May serves as the audiovisual systems archivist and access coordinator with the Brown Media Archives and Peabody Awards Collection, one of three special collections units at the University of Georgia Libraries. He’s also a novelist, who self-published his debut fantasy novel Alan Dreams of Giants in November.

Books about racial inequality in U.S. higher education are the 2025 recipients of the Lillian Smith Book Awards, administered by the University of Georgia Libraries to honor books dedicated to social justice issues.  

“UGA Athletics in Your Town,” a traveling exhibit of materials from the University of Georgia Athletic Association archives, will be coming to cities and counties around the state of Georgia this summer.

The tour will begin on May 30 in Hart County (Hartwell) and continue through Aug. 1 along the way visiting Fulton County (Alpharetta), Coweta County (Newnan), Muscogee County (Columbus), Cobb County (Marietta), Tift County (Tifton), Laurens County (Dublin), and Stephens County (Toccoa).

Jason Hasty, Athletics History Specialist for the UGA Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library, will bring a collection of historic Georgia Bulldogs athletics artifacts to these public libraries as part of a statewide summer tour across Georgia.

The newest members of the Georgia Writers Hall of Fame have broken barriers across genres — from journalism to fiction to poetry — and all three have inspired the next generation of writers through teaching and mentoring.

The 2025 class includes Tina McElroy Ansa, novelist and founder of DownSouth Press; Deborah Blum, Pulitzer Prize-winning science writer; and Tony M. Grooms, poet, novelist, and co-founder of the Georgia Writers Association. Events will be held throughout the year at the University of Georgia Special Collections Libraries in Athens to celebrate each of the honorees.