The votes are in! Decisions were made last week on the winners of the Greenfield Library’s 8th Annual Book Collecting Contest.
In a bid for first prize–$300, a 30% shopping spree at the SJC Bookstore, and qualification for the National Book Collecting Contest—members of the St. John’s community gathered up their beloved “themed” books, showcasing those with demonstrable personal value, regardless of scarcity, dollar value, age, or otherwise. Second place was rewarded $150. Between the November call for submissions and the January application deadlines, collectors put their brains, and their bookshelves, to the test.
Applicants were scored based on a short essay detailing the nature of their collection and how they acquired it, the cohesion of their submission, as well as an annotated bibliography of each book in the collection. This year’s panel was made up of Catherine Dixon (Library Director), Cara Sabolcik (Associate Library Director), and Robin Dunn (Bookstore Manager).
In a “blind” selection process with no knowledge of the owner of each submission, the judges looked for creativity, thoughtfulness, and personal significance. Congratulations to this year’s winners!
First Place: Jacob Burger (A19)—“Tolkien About My Regeneration: SF/F-andoms of the
20th Century in the Modern Day”
Second Place: James Siranovic (A22)—“Monsieur Proust: Where did the Time Go?”
Honorable Mention: Liam Dempsey (AGI20)—“Tidewater Tales: Books from Both Sides of the Ditch”
Each collection will be on display in the Greenfield Library from February 6 through March 28, 2019! Essays can be viewed online at https://www.sjc.edu/academic-programs/libraries/greenfield-library/exhibits .
By Kate Wall on behalf of the Greenfield Library
The Chalkboard 