ASU Libraries Student Book Collecting Contest

introduction

The ASU Libraries Student Book Collecting Contest celebrates the pleasures of books and book collecting

To encourage students to discover the great pleasures and satisfaction of book collecting, the ASU Libraries sponsor a book collecting and essay contest. The contest is open to all full-time or part-time students, graduate or undergraduate, presently enrolled at Arizona State University. Cash prizes of up to $600, in each of the two categories, Graduates and Undergraduates, will be awarded to the book collection that represents a well-defined field of interest, and the best essay on the collection’s subject matter.

Previous award-winning collections have reflected such diverse student interests as Hispanic Legacy of the Southwest, Famous Detectives such as, Britain’s Holmes and Belgian Poirot, History of the Avengers, Exploring the Magic Kingdom, Humorous Young Adult Fiction, From American Literature to African American and Jewish American Literature, and Stephen King.

Important dates

Entry Deadline:   Friday, February 10, 2012

Instructions and the entry form will be available in the application information section.

Award Ceremony:   April 2012

Winners will be announced at the awards ceremony in April, 2012.  Place and time will be announced at a later date.

Prizes

Graduate Student Prizes

• $600 –  Best Collection
• $300 – Best Essay

 

Undergraduate Student Prizes

• $600 – Best Collection
• $300 – Best Essay

 

contest rules and information

The contest is open to all full-time or part-time students, Graduate or Undergraduate, presently enrolled at Arizona State University. Please carefully note the following rules: 

1. Only ASU students are eligible to apply.

2. Submissions must be typed in a twelve-point front and must include the following:

• A completed application form
• A cover page which includes the student’s name, address, e-mail address, telephone number, student identification number, major, and undergraduate or graduate status.  The title of the collection, and, a one or two sentence description of the collection, should also appear on the cover page.
• A typed, double spaced, 1,000 to 1,500 word statement describing how and why the collection as a whole was assembled.
• An annotated bibliography of the collection using a standard bibliographic format should be provided.  Each individual title should be numbered and briefly annotated; the annotations should reflect the importance of each item to the collection as a whole.
• A “wants list”: an additional annotated bibliography listing up to ten other titles that the contestant would like to add in the future.

3. A previous winner may enter again if a different collection is submitted, but only one collection may be submitted each year.

4. Books must be owned and actually collected by the student.

5. Each collection will be judged on the extent to which its books represent a well-defined field of interest.

6. The collection does not need to consist of rare books.  The substance of the collection will be of prime importance in the judging; however, consideration may also be given to the excellence of design and production of the works.  Paperbacks may be included.

7. The entry may contain up to but no more than fifty items, of which up to ten percent may be non-book items that support the collection.

8. After preliminary judging of the bibliographies and statements, applicants will be notified by letter, email, or telephone, and finalists will be invited to come to Hayden Library for a 20 minute interview session for the final judging. At this time, finalists will have the opportunity to make a presentation of several volumes of their collection which will be reviewed by the judging panel. 

9. Awards will be presented at an informal ceremony on April 25, 2012.

Application information

Application Information

The application form is available as a downloadable Microsoft Word Document.

A complete application package consists of the following elements:

• A completed application form
• A cover page which includes the student’s name, address, e-mail address, telephone number, student identification number, and undergraduate or graduate status.  The title of the collection and a one or two sentence description of the collection should also appear on the cover page.
• A one-page statement describing how and why the collection as a whole was assembled
• An annotated bibliography of the collection using a standard bibliographic format should be provided.  Each individual title should be numbered and briefly annotated; the annotations should reflect the importance of each item to the collection as a whole.
• A “wants list”: an additional annotated bibliography listing up to ten other titles that you would like to add in the future.

Submit your application package by one of the following methods:

• By email: Complete the application in Word and send it along with the three other elements of the application as email attachments to rosa.gonzalez@asu.edu with the subject line “Entry: ASU Libraries Student Book Collecting Contest 2012.”
• In person: Bring the completed package to: Rosa Gonzalez, Hayden Library, Administration Office, Room 113, Tempe campus.  

ALL entries, submitted via e-mail or in person, should be delivered no later than 5:00 P.M., Friday, February 10, 2012.

Entries delivered after 5:00 P.M., Friday, February 10, 2012, will be automatically disqualified.

Early entries are encouraged.

2012 Sample Winning Entries

• Sample of winning Undergraduate Student entries:  Undergraduate 1  |  Undergraduate 2
• Sample of winning Graduate Student entries: Graduate 1  |  Graduate 2

competition tips and resources

Here are some tips and resources to help you develop a successful entry:

• Write your statement carefully; it carries great weight with the judges.
• Neatly type your annotated bibliography; the form of the bibliographic entries should be consistent.
• Use a standard bibliographic format in your field or consult one or more sources such as:
  • Gibaldi, Joseph and Walter S. Achtert, MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Paper; fourth edition; New York: Modern Language Association, 1995; or
  • Turabian, Kate L., A Manual for Writers and Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations; sixth edition; Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996, to get ideas about format or use.

 

Information on book collecting can be found by consulting one of the following sources:

• Carter, John, ABC for Book Collectors; 8^th edition;
• Iacone, Salvatore J., The Pleasures of Book Collecting; 1^st edition;
• Finn, Robert, Collecting books is a pleasure: Final/All Edition  
• Quayle, Eric – Early Children’s Books:  A Collector’s Guide 

 

Previous Winners

Winners from previous years

More Information

Rosa Gonzalez
ASU Libraries Administration
Hayden Library Administration Office, Level 1
Rosa.Gonzalez@asu.edu
480-965-3956