UA Libraries Announce Book Collecting Contest Winners

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Four University of Alabama students who have a passion for books have been named winners in the UA Libraries’ 3rd annual Book Collecting Contest. On Wednesday, April 15, at 2:30 p.m. in 205 Gorgas Library there will be an  event to recognize contest winners, after which Dr. Louis Pitschmann, dean of University Libraries, will speak on book collecting and book collections. A reception will follow.

“The passion for book collecting is centuries old, and I am pleased that the number of contest entries confirms that this time-honored love of books remains very much alive among students at the Capstone,” said Pitschmann.

Jessica Lacher-Feldman, UA curator of rare books and special collections and chair of this year’s contest, noted that “the University Libraries is very pleased by the collections and the enthusiasm for this year’s contest.”

Contest winners receive cash prizes, and in addition, each contest winner receives a complimentary one-year membership in the Rotunda Library Society.

This year’s contest winners are:

Courtney Barbour, College of Communication and Information Sciences, 1st place, graduate student. Her collection “Grrrl Zines” spans the years 1994-2009 and contains more than 500 zines from across the United States written by girls, young women, transgender people and some young men.

James Hudnall, College of Arts and Sciences, 2nd place, graduate student.  His collection “Some Notes on River Country” includes a broad range of books on the history and culture of Natchez, Miss.

Friedrich Kerksieck, College of Communication and Information Sciences, 3rd place, graduate student. His collection “Innovative, Contemporary, Handmade Small Press Editions” is an assembly of hand-bound and/or experimentally bound, limited edition chapbooks, books, journals and magazines published within the last five years.

The undergraduate winner is Rob Heflin, College of Arts and Sciences, for his collection “This History is My History” that brings together many signed first editions of books on the Civil Rights Movement and the history of Civil Rights in the South.

In addition, two collections this year were awarded with a Dean’s Honorable Mention — “To Read Around the World: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone in Different Languages,” a collection compiled by undergraduate student Lisa Sandy, and “The Zen Aesthetic in Time, Form and Culture,” a collection compiled by graduate student Gustave von Hahn-Powell.

First-place winners are eligible to submit an entry to the Fine Books & Collecting Collegiate Book Collecting Championship.

The winning book collections will be on display beginning Wednesday, April 15, in Gorgas Library’s second floor Pearce Lobby.  The UA community is invited to stop by and see the book collections through the end of the spring semester.

More information about the University Libraries’ annual Book Collecting Contest can be found at www.lib.ua.edu/mystuff.