IN THIS ISSUE * New Giving Opportunities for Supporting Henderson Library * Pre-1971 Periodicals Relocated to North Building * Plenty of Pogo * "Georgia Southern Magazine" Features Historical Items from Georgia Southern's Past

As part of our ongoing efforts to enhance Henderson Library's information resources, programs, and public amenities, we are not only seeking additional state funding but also relying on grants and private donations. To facilitate the latter, several giving options are available:

- A gift of $500 guarantees one book or video will be purchased each year in perpetuity, with an appropriate book plate and acknowledgment to the donor(s). For each additional $500 added to the fund an additional book or video will be purchased annually. Thus if a $500 fund is increased by $1500 the resulting total of $2000 will enable us to add four titles annually.

- Adopting a subscription to a journal, newspaper, or electronic database is a good option for those interested in giving annually or creating an endowment which would earn sufficient annual interest to support the subscription.

- Gifts of any size are welcome to the Friends of the Henderson Library fund, which supports fund raising activities for the Library and programming of interest to the local community, such as guest lectures, book signing events by authors of note, and exhibits of art and literary achievements drawn from the Library's many collections.

- Henderson Library's Department of Special Collections is responsible for collecting and preserving documents relating to the history of our region, and monetary gifts to the Special Collections fund greatly facilitate the collection of such materials.

- The Library always welcomes donations of books and other materials.

In the case of monetary donations, Georgia Southern faculty and staff may choose to give through payroll deduction. For further information, visit http://library.georgiasouthern.edu/support/  or contact Dean of the Library Bede Mitchell at 681-5115 or wbmitch@georgiasouthern.edu.

In preparation for the construction of a new fourth floor reading room in honor of Charles Burford Lorimer, the Henderson Library has moved all pre-1971 periodicals to off-site storage in the North Building. These volumes were being stored in the area where the reading room will be located. Patrons needing periodicals stored at the North Building are asked to fill out a request form at the Circulation Desk on the second floor. Pickups will be made at 11 AM and 3 PM weekdays and 3 PM Saturdays and Sundays. Arrangements can be made for long runs of periodicals to be retrieved and kept at the Henderson Library for special class assignments or research projects. To make such arrangements, please contact Fred Smith, Access Services Department Head, at 681-5647 or fsmith@georgiasouthern.edu.

Special Collections' holdings on the Okefenokee Swamp have attracted the attention of several scholars, who have visited us to study materials on the history and culture, the flora and fauna, of that area. Less well-known is that we have a large collection of comic strip reprint books on one of the Swamp's most famous denizens - Pogo the possum. The 34 books, ranging in date from 1951 to 1976, cover the height of the comic strip's popularity. In the early fifties, Pogo ran in over 500 newspapers in 14 countries, and his creator, Walt Kelly (1913-1973), was regarded as one of the great cartoonists, especially by fellow artists such as Al Capp. Kelly was never shy about taking controversial political positions in the strip. His environmentalism inspired Pogo's most famous remark, cited in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations. Passing a junkyard in the Swamp, the possum says, "We have met the enemy, and he is us." The Library has recently acquired a few later Pogo books, including 1977's A Pogo Panorama, as well as a scholarly study, All Natural Pogo, by Norman Hale.

An upcoming issue of Georgia Southern Magazine will feature an article about several historical items recently turned over to Henderson Library's Special Collections. Some brief quotes from the article:

"What was once housed for decades in a metal vault now sits neatly in acid-free folders in the library's special collections. University Attorney Lee Davis became aware of the documents and items in the safe and recognized their historical value. Davis inventoried the findings and transferred them to the care of Marvin Goss, head of special collections in the Henderson Library."

"These early documents chronicle some of the financial despair the school faced, but also show the character and vision of its leaders, even in the adverse situations."

"The documents varied from standard annual reports to warranty certificates for motors, insurance premiums, tuition installment letters, and promissory notes. Correspondence and bids from contractors for building and subsequent repair of the boys and girls dormitories, invoices, and a detailed listing of the trees and shrubbery on the campus all settled into the safe over the many years."

"It was known there were articles in the safe, but no one had taken the time to go through them," Davis said. "So many of these documents were untouched for decades."