Hargrett Rare Book & Manuscript Library

A special Family Day event at the UGA Special Collections Libraries features activities for the little ones and a kids’ clothing swap to celebrate sustainability for the adults.

The event, scheduled for 1 to 4 p.m. on Saturday, March 29, will explore clothing history through the ongoing exhibit From Farms to Fast Fashion: Unraveling the Need for Sustainable Style. Open to all ages, the event will include crafts, a gallery scavenger hunt, and snacks.

To participate in the clothing swap, bring your clean, gently used clothes — size preemie to preteen — to swap with other parents and families.

The University of Georgia’s triple-threat musical theater students have added another skill to their resumes, as their newly installed exhibit goes on display at the UGA Special Collections Libraries.

The Golden Age of Broadway, a class-curated exhibit of classic Broadway musical posters and artifacts, will open in the Rotunda Gallery March 4, and the students will show off their singing, acting, and dancing skills with a special performance to celebrate the display this spring. The free event is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Monday, March 24, and members of the university and Athens community are welcome.

Just months after its installation, the Georgia Music Collections exhibit from the University of Georgia Libraries, currently on display at the new Akins Ford Arena in Athens, has brought home its first award.

The exhibit was recognized as a 2025 Travel Blazer by the Georgia Association of Convention & Visitors Bureaus earlier this month. The award celebrates innovative destination development projects that enhance local tourism.

Take a tour through Georgia musical history, with a special free curator-led event at the University of Georgia Libraries’ Georgia Music Collections exhibit, now on display at the Akins Ford Arena at the Classic Center.

Ryan Lewis, Georgia music curator for the Special Collections Libraries at UGA, will lead visitors through a display that features more than 200 legendary artists, from Arrested Development to Whisperin’ Bill Anderson. The free tours of the exhibit are part of the city’s Third Thursday activities this month, and will begin at 6:30 p.m. and 7:15 p.m. on Thursday, February 20.

This Black History Month, two events at the UGA Special Collections Libraries highlight Black voices in history and journalism.

The events include a discussion with author Michael Thurmond on his book about Georgia’s founder and a panel discussion about Black publishing in Georgia in honor of the Georgia Writers Hall of Fame induction of Robert Sengstacke Abbott, the founder of The Chicago Defender.

On Thursday, Feb. 13, Thurmond will discuss his book James Oglethorpe, Father of Georgia: A Founder’s Journey from Slave Trader to Abolitionist, published by the UGA Press. The book explores Oglethorpe’s relationships with Ayuba Suleiman Diallo and Olaudah Equiano, two of 18th-century England's most influential Black men, and how they influenced his philosophy on the issue of enslavement.

A new exhibit at the University of Georgia Special Collections Libraries tells the history of clothing, but not through fads like hoop skirts and bell bottoms. Instead, the display outlines the technology, economics and cultural changes that have led to today’s conveniences and consequences of “fast fashion.”

The exhibit, entitled “From Farms to Fast Fashion: Unraveling the Need for Sustainable Style,” weaves together the complicated history of fashion and clothing production from the days of spinning cotton into cloth and hand-sewing at home to today’s consumer lifestyle that often values novelty over durability and craftsmanship.

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.”

This article also appears on UGA Today at news.uga.edu/barrows-receive-first-dooley-friends-of-the-uga-libraries-award/.

A new award named after the University of Georgia’s legendary head football coach Vince Dooley and his wife Barbara honors those who share another passion with the beloved family — support for the UGA Libraries.