Walter J. Brown Media Archives & Peabody Awards Collection

The sounds and images of Athens’ music scene during the heyday of bands like R.E.M. and The B-52s will return to the big screen this September, appearing more vibrant thanks to a crowd-funded University of Georgia Libraries project to restore the 1986 documentary Athens, GA: Inside/Out.

For the 40^th anniversary of the film, the Brown Media Archives and Peabody Awards Collection will host two free community screenings on Thursday, Sept. 24 featuring an introduction by filmmaker Bill Cody, who donated the original 16 mm film and all accompanying negative and sound elements to UGA Libraries’ special collections archive. Tickets to the shows, scheduled for 5:15 and 7 p.m., can be reserved at Cine’s website or at the box office.

UGA student researchers earned top honors in this year’s Libraries Undergraduate Research Award with reflections on their work that show off their creativity, from collages that tell a story to projects that solve mysteries. 

Twelve­ University of Georgia faculty members will reimagine historical pieces into active-learning opportunities for students as part of UGA’s Special Collections Faculty Teaching Fellows program, now in its 11^th year on campus.

While projects are in the beginning stages, the newest Special Collections Faculty Teaching Fellows are planning unique class activities in fields from English and history to international affairs, fashion, chemistry, and physics, incorporating a broad array of materials from the UGA Libraries three special collections departments.

Residents of Sandersville and the surrounding community are invited to drop off their old home movies so they can be brought into the modern era, thanks to the work of archivists from the Brown Media Archives and Peabody Awards Collection, a special collections unit of the University of Georgia Libraries.

The “Free the Tapes” project is headed to the east central Georgia area after three successful rounds in Athens, which has resulted in the digitization of more than 500 family films.

James Brown’s eel skin boots have been replaced by Little Richard’s iconic silver lamé cape in a rotating display of Georgia musical greats curated by the University of Georgia Special Collections Libraries. 

The change comes as part of an annual rotation at the Georgia Music Collections exhibit at Akins Ford Arena, part of the Classic Center in Athens, which opened last year.  

Researchers can now use a modernized search tool to find unique materials preserved at the University of Georgia Special Collections Libraries (SCL).

The updated technology allows for easier location of materials from hand-written journals, letters, and business ledgers, textiles, political papers, and other unique items from the Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library and the Russell Library for Political Research and Studies. (A separate search tool is in place for the Brown Media Archives and Peabody Awards Collection, the third unit comprising the UGA Special Collections Libraries.)

The revamped search tool known as SCLFind allows for more detailed descriptions and filtering of results, allowing researchers more insight into their searches.

To search for special collections materials, visit libs.uga.edu/scl/research/collections

Building on their award-winning faculty fellows program, University of Georgia Libraries in partnership with the Office of Instruction and EITS will offer two opportunities for faculty to design new courses centered on unique resources that drive active learning and student engagement.

The Creative Engagement Wing Faculty Fellows program launches in the spring, preparing faculty to use the cutting edge spaces of the new MLC Creative Engagement Wing to facilitate student innovation, collaboration, and hands-on learning.

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.