The University of Georgia Press and New Georgia Encyclopedia: A Collaboration of Like Minds

It's Day 1 of the American Association of University Press Week Blog Tour, and we'd like to start by applauding our friends at Duke University Press for their new book, THE MUTLISPECIES SALON, and how it epitomizes this week's theme—collaboration. In this new approach to writing culture, editor Eben Kirksey creates an anthology that brings together analyses of insects, animals, fungi, microbes, and humans with strands of economic, political, and social life. More information on the book can be found here, and there's also an outstanding companion site in the transmedia collection that's definitely worth checking out.

Roughly 350 miles away from Durham in Athens, Georgia, the spirit of collaboration is alive and well here at the University of Georgia Press. The primary mission of the UGA Press is to support and enhance the University of Georgia's place as a major research institution by publishing outstanding works of scholarship and literature by scholars and writers throughout the world. But in order to ensure knowledge was available to expand upon, the New Georgia Encyclopedia was born. Now this year, for AAUP Week, the encyclopedia is being acclaimed as a groundbreaking collaboration to make knowledge accessible to all.

On February 12, 2004 (aptly Georgia History Day) the New Georgia Encyclopedia launched with a virtual ribbon cutting ceremony.  What started with only 700 entries has grown into a scholarly monolith of the state's history, with over 2,000 articles and over 6,000 images.  It is the first state encyclopedia to to be conceived and designed exclusively for publication online, and it is the product of unification between The Georgia Humanities Council, the University System of Georgia/GALILEO, the Office of the Governor, and the Press.

Though the content is exclusively digital, the award-wining encyclopedia has published two books with the Press to supplement the knowledge of Georgia history. In 2007, THE NEW GEORGIA ENCYCLOPEDIA COMPANION TO GEORGIA LITERATURE was published by the Press, and the anthology (which contains articles originally published online) collects biographical profiles of Georgia writers to highlight the state's literary contributions.

In 2011, THE CIVIL WAR IN GEORGIA: A NEW GEORGIA ENCYCLOPEDIA COMPANION was published, also by the Press. Edited by John C. Inscoe, editor of the New Georgia Encyclopedia, this groundbreaking work draws attention to the war's legacy, as well as originally published online articles that cover the prelude to the war and the war's years.

Director of the Press, Lisa Bayer, said, "The New Georgia Encyclopedia has become so deeply embedded in the ways in which Georgians of all ages (and people everywhere) learn about our state that I sometimes think we take it for granted. Where else can you find well-organized, vetted, expert information along with images, references, and crosslinking for free? We should be very, very proud—and supportive—of this amazing resource, which shares the rich history of our state with our world."

Kelly Caudle, project director and managing editor of the New Georgia Encyclopedia, elaborated on on how each compliments the other. "The NGE and the Press are natural partners, each doing its part to make the best scholarship on Georgia available to the academic community as well as the larger public," she said. "With a scholarly credibility endowed by the Press partnership, the NGE attracts a wide audience of readers curious about Georgia's stories—and in turn the NGE sends users straight to the authoritative source behind the entries: UGA Press books. It's been a mutually supportive partnership."

If you have any comments or are interested in learning more about the New Georgia Encyclopedia, the Press, or University Press Week, tweet to us at @UGAPress or talk to us on Facebook at the University of Georgia Press using the hashtag #upweek.

In the News: John C. Inscoe Honored with Two New Awards

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contacts:

Georgia Historical Society: Brandy Mai

University of Georgia Press: Amanda E. Sharp

John C. Inscoe, the Albert W. Saye Professor and University Professor of History at the University of Georgia, has received awards for two separate books, both of which were published by the University of Georgia Press in association with the Georgia Humanities Council.

Inscoe received the Georgia Historical Society’s 2012 Malcolm Bell, Jr., and Muriel Barrow Bell Award for the best book in Georgia history for WRITING THE SOUTH THROUGH THE SELF: EXPLORATIONS IN SOUTHERN AUTOBIOGRAPHY. Drawing on two decades of teaching a college-level course on southern history as viewed through autobiography and memoir, Inscoe explores the southern experience as reflected in the life stories of those who lived it. The Society announced the award at the 173rd Annual Meeting on Thursday, May 17, 2012, at its statewide headquarters in Savannah.

Accepting the Malcolm Bell, Jr. and Muriel Barrow Bell Award for Writing the South Through the Self were UGA Press executive editor Nancy Grayson, on behalf of the Georgia Humanities Council, UGA Press director Lisa Bayer, and UGA professor and author John Inscoe. The award was presented by Georgia Historical Society president and CEO Dr. W. Todd Groce (second from left).

“The Georgia Historical Society is very pleased to recognize this outstanding book,” said Dr. W. Todd Groce, President and CEO of the Georgia Historical Society. “The University of Georgia Press has a stellar reputation as a publisher of history. Along with author John Inscoe and copublisher the Georgia Humanities Council, UGA Press is to be commended for yet again producing top-flight scholarship that engages the public in exploring our state’s and region’s past.”

“The Press’s longstanding relationship with the Georgia Humanities Council has always yielded important projects that benefit teachers, students, and citizens of the state and beyond. We are honored to receive the Bell Award along with the Council for John Inscoe’s latest contribution to Georgia letters,” said Lisa Bayer, Director of UGA Press.

The American Association for State and Local History (AASLH) recognized THE CIVIL WAR IN GEORGIA: A NEW GEORGIA ENCYCLOPEDIA COMPANION with the national Leadership in History Award of Merit presented for excellence in history programs and projects. Inscoe selected articles from the New Georgia Encyclopedia, of which he is general editor, for use in The Civil War in Georgia. Inscoe will receive his award on October 5 at the 67th AASLH Annual Meeting in Salt Lake City. This book was also published in association with the University System of Georgia/GALILEO.

“We are so pleased that THE CIVIL WAR IN GEORGIA has received this national recognition from AASLH. We are grateful to John Inscoe and the New Georgia Encyclopedia staff for their excellent work as they continue to establish new models for digital and traditional publishing,” said Jamil Zainaldin, President of the Georgia Humanities Council.