Walter J. Brown Media Archives & Peabody Awards Collection

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.

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.

Even before three books arrived on shelves this year, UGA librarians were a part of the production. Three faculty members have been credited as author or editor in books published in 2025.

“Librarians do the essential work of acquiring, preserving, and sharing knowledge,” said university librarian Toby Graham, “but our librarians also are university faculty who contribute new scholarship, themselves, as we see from the recent publications by Ruta Abolins, Melody Rood, and Sara Wright.” 

Most recently, Abolins added a chapter to the UGA Press book The Archivability of Television: Essays on Preservation and Perseverance. Edited by Lauren Bratslavsky and Elizabeth Peterson, the book was published June 1.

The community is invited to submit their home movies for free digitization, offered by the Brown Media Archives and Peabody Awards, one of three special collections units at the University of Georgia Libraries. 

Online registration is now open for the third edition of “Free the Tapes,” where audiovisual techs from the archives will digitize up to three old videos in any format — from Super 8 and Betamax to VHS and more — at no cost. Pre-registration is required, and digitization is limited to three items per household/family.  

Nine­ University of Georgia faculty members have been chosen as 2025 Special Collections Faculty Teaching Fellows, a program designed to help instructors creating active learning courses that allow students to engage with UGA Libraries’ archival materials.

The new cohort reaches a broad spectrum of academic areas, from African American Studies, history, music, religion, Spanish, to geography, political science, and statistics.

“We are delighted to welcome our 10th cohort into the Special Collections Libraries Faculty Teaching Fellows program,” said university librarian and associate provost Toby Graham. “Since 2015, SCL Fellows have developed about 100 archives-based courses and reached thousands of students with hands-on experiences that embody UGA’s commitment to active learning.”

The 2025 Special Collections Faculty Teaching Fellows are: 

WEDNESDAY UPDATE: As UGA's campus reopens tomorrow at 10 a.m., all Libraries locations will open at the same time. This includes the Miller Learning Center, the Main and McBay Libraries, the Special Collections Building and others.

Please visit libs.uga.edu/all-hours for complete hours for all locations.

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UPDATE: As UGA's campus remains closed due to winter weather, all UGA Libraries locations, including the Miller Learning Center, will be closed on Wednesday, Jan. 22. 

Digital resources — including access to e-books, online journals, and millions of database resources — will remain available at libs.uga.edu. Log in with your UGA ID to access these academic resources.

Continue to follow this account for information about reopening plans.

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New parking procedures are in place for visiting researchers and gallery patrons at the UGA Special Collections Libraries Building.

For those community members planning to use the Hull Street Deck before 5 p.m., please consider contacting us in advance at 706-542-6331 or sclib@uga.edu  for a one-time code to enter into the deck’s payment station. Otherwise, code access will be available at the building’s front desk, but patrons must return to the parking deck to enter their information before returning to the building.

Parking validation codes are not available for UGA faculty, staff, and students, but they may pay to park at the Hull Street Deck after 1 p.m. or take advantage of hourly parking at the nearby Tate Center Deck.

Information for visitors can be found at https://www.libs.uga.edu/scl/visit

Visitors to the new Akins Ford Arena at the Classic Center in Athens can explore Georgia music history, thanks to a new display installed Dec. 19 by the University of Georgia Special Collections Libraries.

On a larger-than-life video board, The B-52s member and Athens resident Cindy Wilson welcomes visitors to peruse the memorabilia on display, representing more than 200 legendary artists, from Whisperin’ Bill Anderson to Run the Jewels. 

Display cases share memories of concerts, stories about the recording process, fan merchandise and interactions, behind-the-scenes moments, and more. For example, a cold medicine bottle Duane Allman used to make his distinctive slide guitar sounds is on display alongside the Gibson Les Paul he played while recording “Statesboro Blues.”

December deadlines are approaching for UGA Libraries services that will aid in instruction of your Spring 2025 classes.

Libraries Course Reserves

The UGA Libraries’ course reserves services help faculty to provide students with easy, no-cost access to readings and supplementary course materials personalized to class curricular needs whether through electronic materials that can be integrated into eLC or through physical items that can be held on reserve at one of our library locations.