GeorgiaInfo Redesign

GeorgiaInfo, the state’s online almanac based at the University of Georgia, launched a redesigned website Jan. 21.

http://georgiainfo.galileo.usg.edu/

GeorgiaInfo’s newly redesigned website

GeorgiaInfo is part of the Digital Library of Georgia, and is hosted by GALILEO and the University of Georgia Libraries. GeorgiaInfo was created in 1996 by the UGA Carl Vinson Institute of Government. In 2008 the site became a part of the Digital Library of Georgia and GALILEO, the state’s virtual library.

“GeorgiaInfo is complementary to resources like the award-winning New Georgia Encyclopedia and the millions of primary resources included in our Digital Library of Georgia,” said Merryll Penson, executive director of library services with the University System’s Office of Information and Instructional Technology. Having this information in a new format will be very beneficial to our GALILEO users, particularly those in 8th grade social studies.”

The purpose of the makeover is two-fold:

“The redesigned site contains the information from the previous site, but in an updated, more visually appealing format. It also is designed to work well with the technology available today – GeorgiaInfo should display equally well on desktop computers, laptops, tablets, or phones,” said Sheila McAlister, director of the Digital Library of Georgia.

The new site is highlighted by a revolving photo gallery on the home page; it will feature six rotating images showing the beauty of Georgia. The images will be changed regularly.

Navigation throughout the site is by “topics” and “features” listed on drop-down menus at the top of each page – each of these links will take the reader to a page with information about a specific aspect of Georgia – history, maps, counties, wildlife, etc. There are 15 topics and 12 features, plus pages with basic information about Georgia and recent updates to the site. There is also a search function available on the navigation bar at the top of each page.

The four columns below the photo gallery on the home page will highlight some of the most heavily used or timely topics. These topics will change occasionally, but all of the site information will remain available at all times – through the navigation bar.

“Some of GeorgiaInfo’s most popular features have always been This Day in Georgia History and This Day in Georgia Civil War History. Both of these features – with the same information in a new format – are located at the bottom of the home page, and are also listed under features in the navigation bar,” McAlister said.

 

 

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Georgia–A Good Place To Be A Philatelist

And just what is a philatelist you may ask? Not a scientist or doctor of anything, but simply someone who studies stamps! Many Georgia people, events, and symbols have been featured on postage stamps. The man who founded Georgia, James Oglethorpe, was featured on a stamp in 1933–the bicentennial of Oglethorpe’s landing at Yamacraw Bluff to establish the colony of Georgia.

James Oglethorpe Stamp

Another Georgia forefather has also been so honored–the man who helped found the University of Georgia, Abraham Baldwin, was featured on a stamp in 1985. Baldwin also played a crucial role in the Constitutional Convention.

Abraham Baldwin Stamp

Historical events have also been observed on postage stamps, such as Georgia’s ratification of the U.S. Constitution in 1788; this stamp was produced to mark its bicentennial.

Georgia Ratifies the U.S. Constitution Stamp

More recent events have also been observed. During the 1920s, Franklin D. Roosevelt (an avid philatelist himself) adopted Warm Springs, Georgia as his second home. He even built a cottage there in 1932 that was dubbed the “Little White House”; he died there in April of 1945 while sitting for a portrait. Just four months after Roosevelt passed away, he and the dwelling were featured on a stamp.

Roosevelt and the Little White House Stamp

Georgia’s state bird and flower, the brown thrasher and the Cherokee rose, were both featured on a stamp in 1982 as part of a set that showcased the state birds and flowers from all fifty states.

Georgia State Bird and Flower Stamp

Of course,  Georgia is renowned as the Peach State (the peach is Georgia’s official state fruit); this was illustrated on a stamp in 1995.

Peach Stamp

Georgia has a rich literary tradition which has been reflected in stamps. Joel Chandler Harris wrote the Uncle Remus tales. Many of these stories were based upon folktales and folklore shared by local African American storytellers from Turnwold Plantation outside of Eatonton, in Putnam County, where Harris spent much of his youth. Harris was featured on a stamp in 1948.

Joel Chandler Harris Stamp

Sidney Lanier is probably Georgia’s most famous poet; he was portrayed on a stamp in 1972.

Sidney Lanier Stamp

And of course one cannot mention Georgia literature without Gone with the Wind and Margaret Mitchell. She was featured on a stamp in 1986.

Margaret Mitchell Stamp

Georgia has also been home to many famous musicians and songwriters, and some of them have been featured on stamps. Otis Redding sang of leaving his home in Georgia in the song “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay,” but tragically died in an airplane crash at the age of 26 (in 1968, “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay” became the first posthumous number one single in American chart history). This commemorative stamp of Otis Redding was issued on June 16, 1993.

Otis Redding Stamp

Johnny Mercer was born in Savannah and became one of the world’s best-known and most prolific songwriters; among the many hits he composed are “Moon River,””Days of Wine and Roses,” “In the Cool, Cool, Cool of the Evening,” “On the Atchison, Topeka, and the Santa Fe,” “Jeepers Creepers,” “Accentuate the Positive,” “Glow-Worm,” “Goody Goody,” and “Hooray for Hollywood.”

Johnny Mercer Stamp

Georgia has also been home to some great sportsmen, sportswomen, and sporting events. Jackie Robinson, the man who broke major league baseball’s color barrier in 1947, was born in Cairo, Georgia. He was featured on a stamp in 1982.

Jackie Robinson Stamp

Atlanta and Georgia hosted the Olympic Games in their centennial year of 1996. In that same year the United States Postal Service issue a sheet of stamps commemorating this event.

Atlanta Olympics Stamps

Many more stamps, postal stationery, and revenue stamps featuring Georgia and Georgians can be seen on the GeorgiaInfo Georgia on Stamps page.

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