Friends of the Libraries, contestants and judges celebrated at the Awards Ceremony on April 27 at the Eisenhower Library. From the left: Winston Tabb, dean of university libraries and judge; Priya Bhanu, finalist; James Harlow, second place, undergraduate division; Karen Starr, honorable mention, undergraduate division; Katherine Brewer, finalist; and Betty Sweren and Professor Richard Macksey, Friends members and judges. PHOTO BY HIPS/WILL KIRK

By Pamela Higgins
Sheridan Libraries

Six prizes have been awarded in the 2006 Student Book Collecting Contest, sponsored by the Friends of the Johns Hopkins University Libraries. Begun in 1993, the contest recognizes the love of books and the delight in shaping a thoughtful and focused book collection. The competition includes graduate and undergraduate divisions.

The contest attracted a record 49 entries from seven academic divisions. Participants wrote essays describing how and why the collection was assembled and submitted a bibliography of up to 50 titles. Cash awards of $1,000 and $500 were awarded to first- and second-place winners. The quality of this year's entries was so impressive that the judges created a $250 honorable mention award.

Kevin Clark won first prize in the undergraduate category for his collection, "A Composer's Library, Volumes of Inspiration." Clark, a senior, is pursuing a double degree, majoring in philosophy in the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences and composition at Peabody. First place in the graduate category went to J. Michael Collaco for "Indian Railways." Collaco is a postdoctoral fellow at The Johns Hopkins Hospital enrolled in the Medical Management MBA program at SPSBE.

James Harlow, a junior majoring in history and political science, won second place in the undergraduate category for his collection on colonial/revolutionary America titled "Independence." Catherine Turner, a SAIS student pursuing a master's degree in international relations, won second place in the graduate division for her entry, "Understanding War and Warriors."

The undergraduate honorable mention went to senior Karen Starr, an international relations major, for "Russian History and Literature." Jennifer Culbertson, a doctoral candidate in cognitive science, received honorable mention in the graduate division for "Antique Grammars of Antique Language for Students and Linguists."

Selected titles from the winning collections will be on display through the end of May in Special Collections on A-level in the Eisenhower Library, Homewood campus. In addition to the cash awards, winners receive a one-year honorary membership in the Friends of the Johns Hopkins Libraries and an honorary student membership in the Baltimore Bibliophiles.

Top-prize winners of the Hopkins contest are also eligible to enter the 2006 Collegiate Book Collecting Championship, sponsored by the publisher and editor of Fine Books & Collections Magazine; the three top winners will receive cash prizes and a donation to their library will be made in their name.

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