Highlights from Sen. Ernest F. "Fritz" Hollings' personal archive, which he gave to the University of South Carolina's libraries, will be on display at Thomas Cooper Library from June 16 through July 31.

The exhibit coincides with the release of Hollings' book, "Making Government Work," published by USC Press. Thomas Cooper Library was the site of the book's launch, which will include book signings in Charleston, Greenville and Washington, D.C.

Located in the East Gallery on the ground floor of the library, the exhibit, "Making Government Work: The Career of Ernest F. 'Fritz' Hollings," features a series of large text/photo panels and two large cases that display an array of items: notable letters by and to Hollings, photos, speeches, campaign memorabilia, campaign license plates, nameplates, Hollings' 1970 book, "The Case Against Hunger," and a gavel given to him for chairing a budget conference.

Among the most notable treasures is a copy of Hollings' final address to the General Assembly in January 1963 in which he implored legislators and the public to accept the court-ordered integration of the public schools and the admission of Harvey Gantt to Clemson University.

The panels detail Hollings' career in public office, first as a governor of South Carolina and later as a U.S. senator who, from 1966 until his retirement, championed a range of issues that included fair trade, campaign financing, the space program, public education, transportation safety and security, hunger and poverty, oceans and the environment and telecommunications.

As a young senator, Hollings worked to address hunger and poverty in the late 1960s. Included in the exhibit are two photos showing him touring a depressed area in South Carolina in 1969 as part of his research of the topic.

The Hollings Collection is part of the university libraries' South Carolina Political Collections, which document the careers and contributions of the many of the state's political leaders. First donated in 1989, the Hollings archive has expanded to include about 800,000 pages of paper, audiovisual records and memorabilia that document Hollings' political campaigns, as well as his service as governor and his 38 years as the U.S. Senate until his retirement in 2005.

Much of the collection will be digitized and made available by the university as an online collection this fall. In wanting to share its most notable collections, the university has made digitizing collections for online use a priority.

In addition to the Hollings' archive, the university's South Carolina Political Collections has the papers of more than South Carolina leaders. They include the papers of Gov. Carroll Campbell; Sen. Olin D. Johnston; U.S. Secretary of Education Dick Riley; U.S. Reps. Robert Ashmore, Butler Derrick, Bryan Dorn, Robert Hemphill, John McMillan, Elizabeth Patterson and Robin Tallon; Gov. John West; leaders in the General Assembly, including Sol Blatt, Rembert Dennis, Marion Gressette, Harriet Keyserling, Bruce Littlejohn and Isadore Lourie; and other state leaders and activists.

For more information about the South Carolina Political Collections, visit the Web site: www.sc.edu/library/scpc/. For more information about Sen. Hollings' book, "Making Government Work," visit the Web site: www.sc.edu/uscpress/.

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