General Library News

If you have used databases through UGA Libraries recently, including Multi-Search, you may have noticed something different. 

In several databases, we now have a UGA Access button. This button can connect you to full-text or print versions of articles, books, or other resources, when available. If no resource is available, you can also use the button to request a PDF or a physical copy from another library. Libraries calls this kind of button a link resolver. But jargon aside, think of it as a second option to check in case full-text is not directly provided by a database. 

from UGA Today

Two new projects at the University of Georgia will enhance access, both online and in-person, to students, researchers, and members of the community to learn more about the history of urban renewal and housing policy in Athens and across Georgia.

The policy of urban renewal in the United States, which lasted from 1954 to 1974, provided federal funding to municipalities to use eminent domain to acquire property for public redevelopment projects, in some cases displacing residents. Years after funding for urban renewal ended in 1974, federally authorized urban redevelopment projects continued to take place across the country and the state of Georgia.

When Jennifer Tesler started teaching her students about the Harlem Renaissance, she couldn’t help but notice the similarities between the New York borough known for its cultural and political history and their own eclectic, diverse hometown of Athens. In fact, the Georgia city has ties to influential writer and scholar W.E.B. Dubois and several of the Harlem Renaissance musicians, who performed at the Morton Theatre.

Update as of 12/7/21: 

University System of Georgia Board of Regents has approved the naming of the UGA Science Library for the Shirley Mathis McBay, the first African American to earn a doctorate from UGA.

At the Libraries, we are excited and honored for our facility to be chosen for this recognition. The legacy of Dr. McBay will live on through the STEM students we serve at the Shirley Mathis McBay Science Library.

From UGA Today:

A redesigned website from UGA Libraries combines information on the research, instruction, and public services and programs available through the three libraries that are housed in the Russell Special Collections Libraries Building. 

UGA Libraries’ course reserve services allow faculty to enhance their instruction with additional readings and supplementary research materials, while cutting down costs for students. For faculty planning Spring 2022 courses, course reserve services and support are currently open, and requests submitted by December 3 are guaranteed to be completed and accessible by the first day of spring semester classes.

The University of Georgia Libraries will host online conversations with two of the newest members of the Georgia Writers Hall of Fame this November, as part of UGA’s Spotlight on the Arts festival.

Long before Joro spiders began spinning webs across the Georgia landscape, pests, from fire ants and the boll weevil to the kudzu vine, have bugged the state’s farmers, business owners, and residents.

Those pests, past and present, and the ways that scientists, government officials and others have battled them, will be highlighted in a new exhibit on display by the University of Georgia’s Russell Library for Political Research and Studies.

The personal correspondence of Lillian Smith, one of the most prominent white Southern activists before and during the Civil Rights Movement, will be digitally preserved and made available online, as part of a partnership between the University of Georgia’s Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library and the University of Florida’s Smathers Libraries.

University of Georgia faculty members are encouraged to submit applications for the fourth round of the Provost’s Affordable Course Materials Grant program, which is administered by the UGA Libraries and the Center for Teaching and Learning,

Through the Provost's Affordable Course Materials Grant program, faculty members can receive $5,000 to support the transition from costly course materials such as textbooks to educational resources that are free for students or cost less than $40.

More information on the program, as well as the application form, can be found on the Provost's Office website. Applications are due December 1, 2021, and recipients will be notified of their funding status in January 2022.