The Special Collections Libraries building on Hull Street houses the Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library, the Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies, and the Brown Media Archives and Peabody Collection. Materials in special collections libraries can be used by appointment. As soon as you know which special collections library you wish to use, contact the archivists to discuss your research.
UGA Libraries Special Collections are specialized archives holding original, rare, and irreplaceable materials.Specialized finding aids listed in this guide may help you do more detailed searches. Materials can be requested by clicking request buttons on records of materials in a special collection in the UGA Libraries catalog or in special collections finding aids.
Hargrett: Rare Book and Manuscript Library
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.
- LGBT Resource Center records: The University of Georgia's LGBT Resource Center is a campus organization in the Division of Student Affairs that works to support LGBT students on campus and around Athens through education and advocacy. While the Resource Center itself was founded in 2005, one of it's student groups, Lambda Alliance, has existed officially since 1995. The LGBT Resource Center's forerunner, the Committee on Gay Education (CGE), began at UGA in 1971 under the leadership of students Bill Green and John Goard.
- GLOBES (Gay, Lesbian or Bisexual Employees and Supporters) records: GLOBES (Gay, Lesbian or Bisexual Employees and Supporters) is a diverse organization of faculty, staff, graduate students and administrators whose mission is to advocate for, develop and nurture UGA's LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer) communities. According to their website the organization "strives to educate, to improve campus climate, and to foster progressive change as we visibly work for social justice, equity and LGBTQ rights at UGA and beyond."
- Annette Hatton papers : Annette Hatton served as managing editor of The Georgia Review at the University of Georgia for over 23 years. She co-founded GLOBES, UGA's LGBT Faculty/Staff Organization, in 1994 and served as the chair until 2008. She helped establish Athens Pride in 1998 and served as an LGBT Caucus delegate to the 2000 Democratic National Convention.
Richard B. Russell: Library for Political Research and Studies
The Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies serves as a center for research and study of the modern American political system. The Library’s original mission was to collect and preserve materials that document the life and career of the late Richard B. Russell, United States Senator from Georgia from 1933 to 1971. With particular emphasis on the role of Georgia and the U. S. Congress, current collection development and programming focus on the dynamic relationship of politics, policy, and culture—generated wherever public interest intersects with government. The breadth and depth of Russell Library’s collections provide an interconnected framework of perspectives and experiences for understanding the increasingly diverse people, events, and ideas shaping Georgia’s political landscape.
- American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia Records: The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Georgia is a nonprofit corporation founded in 1963 that is focused on protecting civil liberties in the state of Georgia. The records document their litigation and lobbying work, the subjects that they are concerned with, and their daily operations and include correspondence, case files, research files, and publications. Common subjects include the criminal justice system, freedom of religion, freedom of speech and assembly, LGBT rights, open government, racial discrimination, and student and juvenile rights
- C. Donald (Don) Johnson Papers, Record Group B: Congress: C. Donald (Don) Johnson Papers, Record Group B: Congress includes constituent services correspondence documenting a rich mix of issues from the early 1990s including Clinton’s health care plan, proposed tax increases, the implementation of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” relating to the sexual orientation of military personnel, abortion legislation, gun control, and the federal budget. The campaign series contains items pertaining to Johnson’s two campaigns for congress including: correspondence, information about campaign events, campaign ephemera, and clippings. Also found here is material documenting the activities of Johnson’s district office in Athens, Georgia.
The Walter J. Brown Media Archives & Peabody Awards Collection
The Walter J. Brown Media Archive & Peabody Awards Collection preserves over 250,000 titles in film, video, audiotape, transcription disks, and other recording formats dating from the 1920s to the present. Their mission is to preserve, protect, and provide access to the moving image and sound materials that reflect the collective memory of broadcasting and the history of the state of Georgia and its people.
- The Peabody Awards Collection is the archives for the George Foster Peabody Awards, the oldest and most prestigious award in electronic media. Recognizing "stories that matter" since 1940, the archives holds over 90,000 radio, television, and Web programs and over 1,000 feet of supporting documentation and artifacts. Over 1,500 programs in the Collection deal with LGBTQ issues, and a number of important programs on these and related topics have won Peabody Awards. These include: “The Times of Harvey Milk” (1985), The Stonewall Uprising (2011) and “Queerskins: A Love Story” (2018).
- Newsfilm and News Video: Newsfilm was used in broadcast for television newscasts from 1948 until the 1970s, when stations transitioned to videotape for recording live news in the field. The Newsfilm and News Video collections include raw news footage from WSB-TV (Atlanta), WTOC (Savannah), and WRDW (Augusta) as well as airchecks (news broadcasts) from WSB-TV. Most topics covered by broadcast news in the state of Georgia from 1950-2008 can be found in these collections.
- IMAGE film and video collection: The collection consists of videotaped entries to the Atlanta Film Festival, including their gay and lesbian festival entries (both documentaries and drama). There are also many animated titles by artists such as Aardman Animations and animator Bill Plympton. In addition, there are festival promotional films consisting of compilations of festival entries.
