Library recognizes top student book collectors

Published: Friday, April 28, 1995

Students display literature on varied interests for awards

By Michael Howerton

Awarding recognition and prizes to students for their book collecting, UCLA held its 47th annual Robert B. and Blanche Campbell Student Book Competition Wednesday.

This year, only six collections were entered into the competition three graduate and three undergraduate which was a drop from the 14 collections submitted last year.

"I am a little disappointed by the number of collections (entered this year), but the quality of those entered was great," said Lorelyn Lewis, chair of the judging committee.

The collections had to focus on a particular theme and be submitted with an annotated bibliography and essay explaining how the collection was acquired and its importance to the collector.

First prize for the best graduate collection was awarded to Jonathan Sassi, a history graduate student, for his collection titled, "To Envision a Godly Society: Religion and Public Life in Post-Revolutionary New England."

Carrie Twomey, Chicano studies student, won first place for the undergraduate competition with her collection, "Women Who Inspire: A Collection of American Women's Writings."

"These are my favorite authors," Twomey said, who has been building her collection for about 10 years.

She wrote in her essay,"These women and their characters inspire life and living. They make me want to be, and I have collected their books to remind me of who I am and who I can be."

First prizes were awarded $300 each and the second prizes in each category awarded $150. In addition to the money, each finalist received a year's membership in the Friends of the UCLA Library and a book from the UC Press.

Second prize for an undergraduate collection was awarded to Catheryn Clarke, who is majoring in Greek, for her collection, "A Cross-Cultural Anthology of Sexual Customs from Antiquity to the Present."

The second prize went to political science graduate student Russell Burgos, who collected road guides, maps, travel books and diner menus for his collection titled, "On the Road Again: Route 66 and the American Highway Culture."

Burgos said that he had been collecting material on Route 66 for the past seven years, but had grown up right next to it.

"It was always there as an escape, a way to get someplace new," he said, recalling how the highway was what his family traveled on the way to vacations.

"It reminds me that as bad as things are, there are still bits and pieces of the America of myth," he said, explaining why he values his collection.

Newly confirmed California state librarian, Kevin Starr, one of the three judges of the collections, praised all the collections individually and the competition as a whole.

"I was very impressed (by the competition)," he said. "I see it as a model for what can be done throughout the state."

Starr said he hopes that competitions like the Campbell competition can be implemented in both public and private libraries across the state to increase an interest in book collecting. It not only increases one's appreciation of culture but also bolsters self-esteem, especially in young people, he said.

The ambition and intensity of the collectors was expressed through their collections, Starr added.

"In reading the entries I felt I came into contact with the men and women through their collections," he told the audience of about 40 people at the ceremony in the University Research Library's Special Collections department.

John Bidwell, the Clark librarian and one of the judges of the collections, said it difficult was for the judges to decide on the winners.

"The judges favor the contestants who demonstrate some ingenuity or investment of hard work in assembling their collections," he said.

For example, Bidwell said, many of the books in Twomey's collection were inscribed by the authors, which attested to the great effort she put in to see the authors when they made appearances. Also much of the material on Route 66 is very rare and must have been quite difficult to get, he said.

The annual competition gives the university a chance to celebrate the Campbells who, while they were alive, always worked to promote book collecting and learning on the UCLA campus, said Gloria Werner, campus librarian.

"The competition was established to stimulate undergraduate interest in book collecting," Werner said. "It has become one of our treasured spring events."

Twomey added that she found the competition ceremony very enjoyable.

"It was inspiring," she said. "The love of books was evident in the room."

The collections will be on display throughout May in the URL lobby.