First Person Project Day - June 19th

Join the Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies for the First Person Project, an oral history series documenting the experiences of everyday Georgians, on Friday, June 19, 2015 in the Richard B. Russell Building for Special Collections Libraries.

Six sets of partners will be accepted for this First Person Project session, scheduled for Friday, June 19th between 9:00am and 4:00pm. Each audio recording session takes one hour to complete. Photographs of interview pairs will also be taken for each session. The Russell Library will archive the interviews to add to its documentation of life in post 20th century Georgia and will provide participants with a free digital download of the recording and photographs. A $10 donation is suggested for each participant pair.

If you have a friend or family member with a story to tell, become a part of the First Person Project. Reservations are on a first come, first serve basis and can be made by calling 706-542-5782 or emailing clopez@uga.edu.

More About the First Person Project
Modeled roughly on StoryCorps, a national initiative partnered with National Public Radio and the Library of Congress, the First Person Project is smaller in scale but similar in concept, providing tools to would-be oral history interviewers and interviewees, including tips on how to create questions and conduct interviews. The project was inspired by the belief that everyone is an eyewitness to history, and that everyone, sometimes with a little encouragement, has a story to tell.

To learn more about the Richard B. Russell Library, visit:
http://www.libs.uga.edu/russell

Summer Reading List from The Rest of the Story Book Club!

Have you visited the Richard B. Russell Jr. Special Collections Libraries Building? Would you like to learn more about some of the topics address in the exhibits on display? Looking for great books to add to your summer reading list? Then join us for our new monthly book club! We’ve just announced our summer selections, which include

          

June’s selection ties into the Native American collections found in our Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library. Jacksonland: President Andrew Jackson, Cherokee Chief John Ross and A Great American Land Grab examines the tumultuous relationship between Andrew Jackson and John Ross, Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation. Ross lived in the Indian Lands along the Georgia-Tennessee border, which Jackson wished to claim for the U.S. Ross stood in strict opposition to Jackson’s ideals, and did all that he could to advocate for the Indian cause. However, his effort was no match for Jackson’s power and political influence. June’s meeting will take place Tuesday, June 23 from 5:30-7:00PM

In July, we’ll take a look at Drifting into Darien – a book written by one of the 2015 Georgia Writer’s Hall of Fame inductees, Janisse Ray. The book describes her devotion to the Altamaha River and its preservation. Considered the largest free-flowing river in the East, this “mighty waterway,” says the Nature Conservancy “is vital to the health of the Georgia coast.” Ray details her kayaking journey down the full length of the river, reflecting on both beauty and man-made devastation along the river’s banks. The second half of the work details ongoing conservation efforts. This work is a personal reflection and call to preservation from the author of the popular Ecology of a Cracker Childhood! July’s meeting will take place Tuesday, July 28 from 5:30-7:00PM.

And finally, the month of August always has us thinking about football. Curator Jason Hasty, who creates our annual fall football exhibit in the SCL's Rotunda, made this month’s book selection -- The Courting of Marcus Dupree by Willie Morris. This is the story of a black high school quarterback from Mississippi who was the most sought-after recruit in America, “a swift and powerful running back whom many were already comparing with the legendary Herschel Walker of Georgia.”  As Dupree’s talents on the football field drew attention to him and his town, the conversation turned from football to the lingering tensions of a recently desegregated South. August’s meeting will take place Tuesday, August 25 from 5:30-7:00PM

“The Rest of the Story” Book Club is free and open to the public. Light refreshments are served at each meeting, and discussions will be followed by staff-led gallery tours to highlight displays related to the readings. For more information please call (706) 542-5788 or email Jan Hebbard at russlib@uga.edu, or visit our Goodreads group page at https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/160379-the-rest-of-the-story-book-club