The Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies is holding an open house in conjunction with the opening of its new exhibit, “Power to the People! Rural Electrification in Georgia.”
The open house is Oct. 13 from 1-4 p.m. “Power to the People! Rural Electrification in Georgia” is the result of three years of research and documentation of this important part of Georgia’s modern history. Thematically, the exhibit considers patterns of living in rural areas before and after electricity became available. It also traces the establishment of the Rural Electrification Administration, a New Deal program created to bring electricity to rural areas, as well as the development of electric membership cooperatives, the grassroots rural organizations formed to bring power to the people through REA.
The exhibit features artifacts, images, maps, documents and historic film footage from the Russell Library’s collections as well as from the UGA Libraries‚ two other special collections, the Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Collection and the Walter J. Brown Media Archives and Peabody Awards Collection.
Many of the electric membership cooperatives around the state loaned materials for the display, and a number of individuals loaned or donated material including several UGA Libraries staff members. Several archives around the state provided materials including the special collections for Georgia Southern, Georgia State, and West Georgia universities, Troup County Archives and the Georgia Power Archives.
The exhibit will be on display through Sept. 30, 2006, and is free and open to the public. During the exhibit’s run there will be public programs to complement the exhibit.
In addition to the regular hours of operation (Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.), the Russell Library Gallery will be open on Saturdays from 1-4:45 p.m. except on UGA holidays and all home football games. For more information, call 542-5766 or 542-5788.
