Book Collection Contest: Win Some Cash!

As finals week begins, I am sure everyone is beginning to think of how to occupy all of the free time in the upcoming break. If you have a couple of free hours, consider planning a submission for the library's Book Collection Contest. The payouts are substantial: first place receives a cool thousand dollars, and second place receives half that.

From the Collins Library website:

"The aim of this competition is to encourage undergraduate students at Puget Sound to read for enjoyment and to develop personal libraries throughout their lives, to appreciate the special qualities of printed or illustrated works, and to read, research and preserve the collected works for pleasure and scholarship. Collections can be on any subject and this contest is open to all full time undergraduates.

A collection consists of items that a student has come to own as a consequence of developing a particular interest, which may be academic or not. A collection may consist of all books or a combination of books and other formats. For example, a collection focusing on a dramatist might include a playbill or poster associated with a performance. A collection on birds might include illustrations or a collection representing geography may include maps. For this contest, a collection consists of no more than 30 items of which the majority should be books, but related materials such as photographs, illustrations, maps, ephemera, CDs, music scores, posters etc. can be included. Collections can be on any topics. Subjects can be contemporary or historical and may stress bibliographical features such as bindings, printing processes, type, editions, illustrations, etc. Comic books and graphic novels will be accepted. Collections of ephemera alone if of historical interest will be accepted. Current textbooks should not be part of a collection, but historical textbooks may be included."

With that said, it would be wonderful if a history-themed collection were to win one of these substantial prizes. For more information, check out the library's context page, located at http://www.pugetsound.edu/academics/academic-resources/collins-memorial-library/book-collecting-contest/.

Writing Excellence Awards

With the holidays soon approaching, money is on everybody's mind. Luckily, we've thought of a way to help history majors rake in the dough. The annual Writing Excellence Awards are under way, which could net you a cool $250 for submitting a well-written paper from the 2009 year. Past winning papers are available on the Puget Sound website under the Center for Writing, Learning and Teaching's page, if you are interested in seeing some of the elements for which judges are looking.

Rules for the Contest

Papers written as part of the requirement for courses taken at the University of Puget Sound during spring, summer, or fall of 2009 are eligible. Papers of any length may be submitted; short papers are as likely to win as long ones. A total of nine prizes ($250.00 each) will be awarded: two prizes in each category--Humanities, Social Sciences, and Natural Sciences and Mathematics--and one prize each for Freshman Seminars, Connections, and Graduate Programs.

Students may submit no more than one paper in each category, and each paper must be accompanied by a description of the assignment and an entry form. (Entry forms are available in the Center for Writing, Learning, and Teaching, HO 105/109 and at www.ups.edu/writingexcellenceawards.xml.) Students should submit the original paper with the professor’s comments, or a photocopy of it, to the Center for Writing, Learning, and Teaching by 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, January 28, 2010. We are unable to accept papers submitted after this deadline.Questions

If anyone has any questions about the process or the prizes, please call Julie Neff-Lippman at x2696 or e-mail neff@ups.edu.