Open the first page. Flip through the rest of the pages slowly, scanning the fine print. Your eyes glance over the pictures, the colors. We all have collections: baseball cards, seashells and other trinkets. Whether we started them as children or continue collecting today, these are things that we treasure, that we have come to love. For many, it is for the love of books that we start collections.
The Betty and Edgar Sweren Student Book Collecting Contest is the perfect opportunity to share one's love of books with others. According to its mission statement, the contest, "recognizes the love of books and the delight in shaping a thoughtful and focused book collection."
Dean Winston Tabb elaborates on the excitement and the authenticity that the Collect Contest brings to the Hopkins community.
"The contest was begun in 1991 as a way to encourage students' passion for reading and the love of books. It ran for several years, but was suspended for several years before I arrived at JHU as dean in 2002. In 2006 we reinstated the contest under the sponsorship of the Friends of the Johns Hopkins University Libraries," Tabb wrote in an e-mail to The News-Letter. "Betty and Edgar Sweren wanted to recognize and encourage young bibliophiles and assist them in their development as thoughtful, focused collectors."
The criteria for entering is straightforward. Any student enrolled in a degree program at Hopkins can apply. All of the items must be owned by the student entering the contest. Although the collection is called the Book Collecting Contest, one does not have to submit a book collection. The collection may include other items on any topic. In the past, individuals have entered collection with items focusing around music, feminism, running, etc.
Those participating must submit a cover sheet, as well as a 2-3 page outline describing the collection and its significance. Participants must talk about the makeup of the collection; how it was assembled, for what reason was it assembled, and ideas for the future of the collection. Contestants must also submit a bibliography of 20 or more items. The last requirement for contestants is to submit a wish list.
"Entrants must also submit a wish list of up to 10 titles to reflect future collection goals and areas of interest," Tabb wrote. "The purpose of the wish list is to give contest judges a sense of how the students envision building their collections over time. True collectors always have their eye on their next acquisition target."
The contest has two categories for undergraduate and graduate students, both have participants each year.
"The number of applicants varies from year to year, with generally at least a dozen (but often more) in both the undergraduate and graduate categories," Tabb wrote. "Participants must write a brief essay describing how and why they began and assembled their collection, and attach an annotated bibliography of between 20 and 50 titles. The main purpose of the essay is to give the judges insight into the personal genesis of the collection, and to determine whether the student sees the collection as a collection rather than nearly an aggregation of books."
In each division, the first prize winner is awarded $1,000. Second place is awarded $500, and third place wins $250. Those chosen as winners will also have their collections displayed in the Milton S. Eisenhower Library as well as a one year honorary membership in the Friends of the Hopkins Libraries. It is an honor to be accepted as a member of the Friends, one of the oldest such groups in the country.
"Since 1931, the Friends have supported the students and faculty of Johns Hopkins through lectures, programs, and funding for acquisitions and technology. Winners are also eligible to be entered into the National Book Collecting contest. Our graduate winner last year, Margaret Murray, was awarded second place in the national competition for her collection ‘Literature of the Little Review,' and was recently honored at a reception at the Library of Congress," Tabb wrote.
Other past winners include "A Composer's Library, Volumes of Inspiration," from Kevin Clark, who won the 2006 undergraduate division, as well as the 2009 graduate category winner, "Voices from Conflict: Oral Histories from 20th Century Wars," from Sarah Richardson.
This year's entry deadline is Feb. 17, 2012. For more information, visit http://www.library.jhu.edu/friends/programs/bookcollectcontest.html.
