Student Book Collection Contest 2008
The Friends of the University of Minnesota Libraries are pleased to announce the 8th Annual Student Book Collection Contest. We want to celebrate University students who are excited about reading and collecting books, paperbacks, maps, manuscripts, or other published collections, and give them an opportunity to meet other collectors. Describe your collection in a short essay and win a cash prize. Prizes will be awarded in undergraduate and graduate categories.
Contest Awards
| First Prize | Second Prize | |
| Undergraduate: | $700 | $500 |
| Graduate: | $700 | $500 |
The four finalists will also win a year's honorary membership in the Friends of the Libraries and will be the guests of the Friends at the Annual Dinner on April 24, 2008.
Previous Winners
2007 Undergraduate Student Category:
1st - Danielle Penneau, "A Collection of the Fiction of L.M. Montgomery"
2nd - Eric Lederman, "First Sentence: The Soul of a Book"
2007 Graduate Student Category:
1st - Joan Gilmore, "The Furniture of Our Lives - Books on Antique and Miniature Decorative Arts"
2nd - Terrence J. Serres, "Understanding the Function of Trees: A Collection of Books on Trees and Forestry"
2006 Undergraduate Student Category:
1st - Caleb DeMarais, "A Collection of the Works of Japanese Novelist Kenzaburo Oe"
2nd - Nick Kirby, "A Century of Engineering"
2006 Graduate Student Category:
1st - Steve Claas, "The Work of August W. Derleth"
2nd - Andrew Von Duyke, "Polar Literature--Its Parallels to and Influences upon my Life"
2005 Undergraduate Student Category:
1st - Amber Burnette - "Books Not Just for the Birds: A Collection of Avian History and Natural Biology"
2nd - Laura Case - "Russian Artistic Philosophers: A Collection of Russian Literature and Criticism of These Works"
3rd - Gary Arndt - "117 Years of National Geographic"
2005 Graduate Student Category:
1st - David K. Oosterhuis - "Beyond Tarzan: The Fantastic World of Edgar Rice Burroughs"
2nd - Sean Nye - "Archive of German Electronica"
3rd - Kim Ballard - "The Intersection of Mind, Page, and Screen"
2004
1st Eric Fuchs, “Collecting Books about Rhetoric and Debate”
2nd Melanie Brown, “How to Collect Little Blue Books”
3rd Ellen Arnold, “Books of Nature and Nature in Books”
2003
1st David Oosterhuis, “Rome As Read: Recent Popular Novels Set in Ancient Rome”
2nd Paul Brinkman, “Books on the History of Vertebrate Paleontology”
3rd Amber B. Shields, “My Collection of Arthurian Literature”
2002
1st Anne Good, “The Novels of Georgette Heyer”
2nd Jonathan Good, “On Heraldry”
3rd Julia Bleakney, “Vietnam Veterans’ Writings”
2001
1st Mike Westberg, "A Selection of Erle Stanley Gardner Books"
2nd Luke Francl, "Political and Social-Themed Science Fiction”
3rd Jason Brehm, "This Just Popped Up!"
Calendar
March 5, 2008 Deadline for submission of entries, 12:00 noon
April 24, 2008 Awards presented at the Friends of the Libraries Annual Dinner
Contest
The first round of judging evaluates a collection based upon the quality of its description in the essay and bibliography. Collections and books may be on any subject, but the judges favor collections that are clearly defined. Successful essays define the collection and describe the books persuasively, and the winning bibliographies reveal the collector's knowledge of the subject. The judges, selected from the Friends of the Library, University faculty, and library staff, select four finalists. The finalists are asked to bring a selection from their collections into the library for display. The final judging of the display books will verify the decisions made from the written materials.
Rules
- Entries must include an annotated bibliography of 25 or more titles, an essay about the collection (max of 1500 words), and an entry form.
- Contestants must be enrolled full or part time at the University of Minnesota.
- Collections must consist of at least twenty-five titles collected and owned by the student.
- Collections may be defined in any meaningful way.
- Collections need not consist exclusively of rare or hardcover books. They may contain paperbacks, maps, manuscripts, or other materials.
- Students may submit only one collection per year.
- A winning collection may not be resubmitted in subsequent years.
- Entries must be submitted on paper no later than 12:00 noon Wednesday, March 5, 2008 to George Swan, 170B Wilson Library.
- The finalists will be identified and notified in early April. Winners will be announced and prizes given at the Friends Annual Dinner on April 24, 2008.
Questions?
Contact Elaine Challacombe (612 626-4366; e-chal@umn.edu). See example annotations and get tips for creating a winning entry.