The Johns Hopkins Friends of the Libraries Award Student Book Collectors

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 a graduate and undergraduate division.

Open to all undergraduate or graduate students enrolled in a degree program at Johns Hopkins, this year’s contest attracted a record 49 entries from 7 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 $1000 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 the Peabody.  First place in the graduate category went to J. Michael Collaco for his collection on Indian Railways.  Collaco is a post-doctoral fellow at Johns Hopkins Hospital enrolled in the Medical Management MBA program at the School of Professional Studies and Business Education.

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 Honorable Mention award in the undergraduate division went to senior Karen Starr, an International Relations major, for her collection on Russian History and Literature.  Jennifer Culbertson, a Ph.D. candidate in Cognitive Science, was awarded Honorable Mention in the graduate division for her collection entitled, Antique Grammars of Antique Language for Students and Linguists.   

Selected titles from the winning collections will be on display in Special Collections on A-level in the Eisenhower Library through the end of May.  In addition to the cash awards, winners will also be given 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.