Contact: James Carskadon
STARKVILLE, Miss.—Mississippi State University Libraries, along with MaxxSouth Broadband and its owner John Robinson Block, will host MSU’s first Undergraduate Student Book Collecting Contest this semester.
The contest encourages undergraduate students to begin a book collection or add to an already existing collection. The first place winner will receive $1,000 and will be eligible to compete in the National Collegiate Book Collecting Competition, held annually at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.
“We are proud to be working with John Robinson Block and MaxxSouth Broadband on the Undergraduate Student Book Collecting Contest,” said Fred Smith, MSU Libraries coordinator of rare books. “It is through the generosity of Mr. Block and MaxxSouth Broadband that this contest has been established and will continue for years to come. The goal of the contest is to promote books, reading, literacy and libraries.”
All collections submitted for the contest must include at least 30, but no more than 50 titles. The collections should have a unifying theme, such as a specific topic or author, which will be explained in an essay as part of the submission. Each submission also will contain an annotated descriptive bibliography explaining the importance of each book, along with an annotated list of five items the student wishes to add to the collection.
All contest entries must be submitted through the online application by 5 p.m. on March 29. For complete contest details, see http://guides.library.msstate.edu/bookcontest/home.
Three finalists in the contest will display their collections at Mitchell Memorial Library later this spring, where they will participate in the interview and collection display competition. The winners will be announced during an April awards ceremony. In addition to the $1,000 prize for winning first place, the second place entry will receive $500.
For more on MSU Libraries, visit www.lib.msstate.edu. For questions about the contest, contact Smith at fsmith@library.msstate.edu or 662-325-3848.
MSU is Mississippi’s leading university, available online at www.msstate.edu.