Fine Books&Collections Magazine | Book-Collecting Championship

Anyone awarded a top-prize in a college-level book-collecting contest award between September 1, 2007 and June 11, 2008 may enter the Fine Books & Collections Collegiate Book-Collecting contest. Entrants should send by mail or email 1) a cover page (see 2.4.a); 2) a copy of their winning entry (2.4.b); 3) proof that they won (2.4.c); and up to five pages of optional supplemental material. Entrants must be under 30 years old (2.1.e). The deadline for entry in June 13, 2008.

1. Introduction

For more than seventy years, colleges and universities have encouraged their students to create personal libraries by hosting book-collecting contests. Since 2006, Fine Books & Collections magazine has hosted the Collegiate Book-Collecting Championship—a competition among the top-prize winners of the collegiate contests held anywhere in the world. Our goal is to encourage students to collect books, to build their own libraries, to appreciate the special qualities of the printed word, and to read for pleasure and enlightenment.

2. Requirements For Entry

2.1. Each contestant must be the top-prize winner of an officially sanctioned collegiate book collecting contest with an award announced between September 1, 2007 and June 11, 2008.

2.1.a. If the college or university awards a top prize in two or more divisions (for example, a separate graduate and undergraduate prize), both division winners are eligible.

2.1.b. If a particular college or university does not necessarily award a first prize every year a contest is held, then the winner of the highest award that is given out that year is eligible to enter. For example, if no grand prize is awarded, but a second prize is given, the second-prize winner is eligible to enter.

2.1.c. In case of a tie for the top prize at a college or university, each top-prize winner is eligible to enter.

2.1.d. If a particular college or university does not hold a contest every year because the contest is biennial or quadrennial, a student from that school may enter only during the year the contest is actually held.

2.1.e. The goal of the Collegiate Book-Collecting Championship is to support young collectors. Entrants in the Championship is limited to contestants under 30 years old on June 11, 2008 (born June 12, 1978 or later).

Deadline: entries must be postmarked no later than Friday, June 13, 2008.

Entries should be mailed to: Book Collecting Championship

Fine Books and Collections Magazine

P.O. Box 106

Eureka, CA 95502

2.4. The required submission materials (see below) consist of: 1) a cover sheet; 2) an unaltered copy of the contestant’s collegiate book-contest entry; and 3) a letter from the organizers of the entrant’s collegiate contest certifying that the entry is a top-prize winner in the contest. Optional materials. Championship prizes are awarded to the best overall collector, not to a particular collection. Students who would like to submit additional materials may do so (see below).

2.4.a. Cover sheet. The cover sheet should include the entrant’s name, address, telephone number, email address, collection title, and school affiliation. Additional contact information for the months of June and July should be provided if the entrant will be away during this time. This information may be sent by e-mail.

2.4.b. Copy of collegiate entry. Each contestant should attach a true copy of the complete submission of their winning submission to their college or university’s collegiate book-collecting contest. It may not be amended, revised, or augmented. The entry may be sent by e-mail.

2.4.c. Verification letter. Each contestant should provide evidence that they are the top-prize winner in their collegiate contest. This evidence may be one of the following:

A letter written on the letterhead of the college or university that organized the collegiate book collecting contest (or the department or organization within the school that held the contest) indicating that the entrant has been awarded the top prize in the collegiate book-collecting contest.

A print-out from an official website, indicating the winners.

An e-mail from a contest organizer sent to , providing the name(s) of the winners.

2.4.d. Optional materials. Contestants may submit additional materials to assist the judges. These materials may include information on collections or items not included in the winning entry, more detailed bibliographical details, photographs, or other materials the contestant deems relevant. The submissions should not exceed five (5) pages, and it may be sent by e-mail.

2.5 Entries will not be returned and become the property of Fine Books & Collections magazine. Entrants agree to allow Fine Books & Collections magazine and its owner OP Media, LLC, to publish their entries, in full or in part, in print or electronic form in a future issue or issues of Fine Books & Collections or related products and to use the entries for advertising and promotional purposes without payment.

2.6 These rules are subject to change. Final rules will be posted on www.finebooksmagazine.com prior to the award of prizes.

3. Judging Procedure

3.1 Selection of judges. To avoid a conflict of interest, the judges should not have participated directly in any of the collegiate book-collecting contests held during the 2007–08 academic years. The panel of judges should include no more than five persons, drawn from a variety of backgrounds: collector, bookseller, librarian, academic, etc. One judge may be a member of the Fine Books & Collections staff.

3.2 Judging procedure. The editor and publisher of Fine Books & Collections magazine will evaluate all entries and may request additional information from contestants and/or contest sponsors. The top ten (10) entries will be sent to the judges for evaluation and final judging. The judges may also contact contest officials and the contestants for further information. Based on their review of the materials, a short list of candidates will be selected for interviews. Following the interviews, the judges should award prizes no later than July 21, 2008.

4. Judging Criteria

Nicholas Basbanes wrote in Among the Gently Mad (p.138), “To excel [at book collecting], you have to be willing to bring something to the table, and by that I do not mean a stack of chips to underwrite your action as a player, I mean your imagination, your intelligence, your eagerness to explore and learn, your willingness to improvise and to innovate in areas others might consider a waste of precious time.”

The principal criteria for judging will be the intelligence and originality of the collection and the potential for the entrant to develop a fine private library or book collection in the future. The creativity, thoughtfulness, and dedication evident in the collection are the primary criteria. Each collection will be judged by the extent to which it represents a well-defined field of interest or theme.

Age, rarity, or monetary value of the material in a collection is less important than the thought, creativity, and persistence demonstrated in defining a collection and bringing it into being. While it is entirely possible that a winning collection contain no costly or rare items, contestants are expected to demonstrate some knowledge of, and appreciation for, the items in their collections, not only for their content, but as objects of craft. Uniqueness of objects will be considered independently of market value, especially if the contestant can demonstrate that the collection is helping to preserve material that may otherwise be lost or forgotten. Ultimately, the judging will rest on how significant, unusual, and intrinsically interesting the collection is when considered as a whole.

5. Prizes

Prizes will be awarded to the both the winning students and the libraries of the winning students. Libraries are encouraged, but not required, to use their prize money to support future book-collecting contests at their institutions by increasing available prizes; hosting banquets or receptions for entrants to future contents; sponsoring contest alumni gatherings, or other similar activities.

First Prize $2,500 Library: $1,000

Second Prize $1,000 Library: $500

Third Prize $500 Library: $250

5.2 Awards ceremony. The top three prize winners will be invited to the awards ceremony. Fine Books & Collections magazine will provide transportation and lodging for these contestants.