Athens, Ga. – University of Georgia students have unveiled the 2011 Pandora Yearbook, the first volume in the publication’s 124-year history to be published in a CD-ROM format rather than a traditional book. Titled “This is NOW,” the reformatted yearbook is the result of a decade-long national trend in which the popularity of college yearbooks has waned.
The digital Pandora is one of only a handful of publications in the country that have adopted the new format and is the first of its kind among SEC institutions. Many yearbooks that have experienced sharply declining sales have ceased publication entirely.
“Rather than let this vital tradition die, our students decided to take it in a new direction,” explains Ed Mirecki, director of student activities in the Department of Campus Life. “The new yearbook contains the elements of the traditional printed book but is more accessible to students.”
The CD-ROM contains software that simulates turning through the pages of a book. The Pandora disc is housed in a cardboard slipcase with an eight-page booklet containing an introduction and table of contents.
Pandora adviser Elizabeth Hansen says the digital format gave students more flexibility in creating content and designing the piece.
“The entire document is full color, and we weren’t limited by printing constraints,” she says. “The staff was able to put more of their own personal styles into the book, and there are more articles and a greater depth of information than in recent yearbooks.”
Hansen says the Pandora staff hopes to improve upon this year’s edition by adding some new features next year, including music and video clips.
“It’s gotten people excited about Pandora again,” Mirecki says. “There is a different energy and students have a sense that the sky’s the limit with the digital format.”
The 2011 Pandora is available free of charge to students with valid UGACards who pay activity fees on the Athens campus as well as recent graduates. Non-students may purchase copies for $10.
Copies are available at the Tate Student Center cashier window, open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m.-4 p.m., or by calling 706/542-8579.
For more information, see www.uga.edu/pandora.
Pandora Yearbook is a program of the Department of Campus Life within UGA’s Division of Student Affairs.
