The Hargrett Library focuses on Georgia history and culture, holding rare books and Georgiana, historical manuscripts, photographs, maps, broadsides, and UGA archives and records. Other areas of emphasis include performing arts and natural history. Holdings date from the 15th century to the present.
The Hargrett Library advances the research, instructional, and service missions of the University of Georgia by collecting, preserving, and sharing the published and unpublished works that document the history and culture of our state.
Among the Hargrett’s holdings is the Georgiana collection, the most complete assemblage of published works by Georgians and about Georgia: and a distinguished collection of rare books, maps, and broadsides featuring material from the De Rennes and Felix Hargrett. The Library holds millions of original manuscripts and images, the raw material of history. Hargrett also contains the University of Georgia Archives, which secures the institutional memory of America’s first state-chartered university. The Hargrett is home to the Georgia Writer’s Hall of Fame, celebrating the achievements of Georgia writers and promoting the state’s literary heritage.
The oldest of the University of Georgia's Special Collections Libraries, the Hargrett Library first took shape with the purchase of the De Renne Library in the late 1930s. For years known as Special Collections, the Hargrett Library was named in 1986 for Felix Hargrett, a University graduate and collector of rare books and manuscripts.
