Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies

Visitors to the new Akins Ford Arena at the Classic Center in Athens can explore Georgia music, 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.    

This election season, the University of Georgia Libraries invites voters to learn more about the efforts over the past century to ensure their right to cast ballots.

The Russell Library for Political Research and Studies presents the exhibit Precious, Almost Sacred: Voting Rights in America, on display at the UGA Special Collections Libraries.

An upcoming University of Georgia Libraries event aims to nourish minds and help fill a local food pantry.

UGA’s Russell Library for Political Research and Studies has partnered with Campus Kitchen to host the annual Food, Power, and Politics Lecture, featuring a discussion on the increasing global need for food banks with expert and author Daniel Warshawsky.

The event is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 10 at the UGA Special Collections Libraries. Attendees are encouraged to bring donations for Campus Kitchen’s annual "Turkey Palooza" Thanksgiving Food Drive, which aims to help provide Thanksgiving meals for families experiencing food insecurity in the Athens community.

The University of Georgia Libraries and the Center for Teaching and Learning invite full-time UGA faculty from all disciplines to apply

UPDATE: UGA Libraries will resume normal operational schedules at 10 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 28. The Miller Learning Center, Main Library, and McBay Science Library will reopen at that time, and other facilities will reopen on their normal schedules. For full hours visit libs.uga.edu/all-hours. 

Previously: All University of Georgia Libraries facilities will be closed Thursday, Sept. 26, and Friday, Sept. 27, in accordance with the campus closure due to inclement weather.

The Miller Learning Center and Main and McBay Libraries will close at midnight Wednesday night and, as of now, plan to reopen on Saturday. All events currently scheduled for Thursday and Friday have been canceled, including the Special Collections Libraries' Georgia Writers Hall of Fame event featuring Barbara Brown Taylor and John Bell.

Established in 1974, the Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies at the University of Georgia will mark its 50^th anniversary this fall as the only archive in the state dedicated exclusively to documenting politics, policymaking, and public life. 

In celebration of this milestone, the Russell Library will host a pair of public events on Tuesday, Oct. 22, engaging several of the top political thought leaders on national security and international relations issues. The anniversary events will begin with a morning conversation with former U.S. Senator Saxby Chambliss and retired Maj. General Arnold L. Punaro, followed by an afternoon discussion with internationally renowned UGA political science emeriti professors Gary Bertsch and Loch K. Johnson. 

A documentary presented by the University of Georgia Libraries has earned a regional Emmy Award. 

INSIDE The Warren Commission, a project that has aired on public broadcasting across the United States throughout the past year as part of the 60^th anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, was selected as a Southeast Emmy Award recipient. 

The documentary delves into the inner workings of the Warren Commission, the blue-ribbon Congressional body charged to investigate Kennedy’s assassination.

This June, the University of Georgia Special Collections Libraries will host two free film screenings about past struggles with equality that echo headlines of today.

A Tuesday, June 4 screening of Love Free or Die will mark 21 years since Gene Robinson’s consecration as the first openly gay person to become a bishop in a Christian church. Held at 5:15 p.m. at Cine, the screening is sponsored by the Walter J. Brown Media Archives and Peabody Awards Collection.

The screening will feature a discussion with director Macky Alston and Robinson, who wore a bullet-proof vest to the consecration ceremony of the Episcopal Church Diocese of New Hampshire and faced death threats during his tenure. The events caused a split in the Episcopal Church similar to the fracturing of the United Methodist Church occurring today.

Nine­ University of Georgia faculty members are preparing new classes this May as 2024 Special Collections Faculty Teaching Fellows, a program designed to help instructors incorporate UGA Libraries’ archival materials and active learning strategies into courses.