Calling All Book Lovers– Student Book Collecting Contest Under Way at UA

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Avid readers of all kinds are invited to take part in the annual Student Book Collecting Contest sponsored by The University of Alabama Libraries.

Submissions will be accepted until 4 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 5. The contest will conclude with an awards ceremony, lecture and reception at 1 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 19 in 205 Gorgas Library.

Organizers of the contest say it provides students an opportunity to “show us their stuff” and illustrate their personal interests through books, which in turn encourages reading and promotes book collecting to a broader audience.

The UA book collection submissions will not be judged by the size, monetary value, or rarity, but rather by their creativity and content. The “book” in this contest has been defined broadly to include paper and hardback books, as well as digital materials such as music, video and alternative publications such as ‘zines, manga, comics and other print materials.

Monetary prizes will be awarded for the winners, including $500 in cash for first place, $250 for second place and $100 for third place.

UA’s two first-place winners from last year, John Codega (soccer) from the graduate division and James McFarland Jr. (Southern politics) from the undergraduate division, went on to compete in the Fine Books & Collections Collegiate Book Collecting Championship (www.finebooksmagazine.com/contest/index.phtml), a competition for student book collectors with contestants from across the United States and Canada as well as the United Kingdom.

Last year’s UA book contest competitors submitted collections on diverse topics ranging from Greta Garbo to Cinderella to dissident post-World War II Literature of 20th century Eastern Europe.

At the Oct. 19 reception, Dr. Maarten Ultee will discusses the attraction of collecting old books and his own passion for collecting in “Tales from the Old Book Trade: Collectors and Collecting.”

Ultee, professor of European history at UA since 1991, teaches courses in Western Civilization, 18th century Europe, Enlightenment and the French Revolution. He has published nine books and numerous articles on 17th century French monks, 18th century warfare, scientific communication, banking, business and the history of medicine. He remains an active book buyer in Europe and America through his travels and also on the Web. His personal library has grown considerably, and he will show the audience his favorite books as well as some items from UA’s Hoole Special Collections Library.

The UA Libraries and the department of history are working together to develop a public outreach initiative to focus on events and activities that highlight the growing scholarly and personal interest in collecting and collections.

The event is free and open to the general public, students, faculty, staff and members of the UA community.

Winning collections will be exhibited in Gorgas Library from mid-October to mid-November.

More information on the contest is available at http://www.lib.ua.edu/mystuff/.