Research, book collecting honored at Leatherby Libraries student award ceremony

It was a day for the books, from the scholarly research they support to the delight they bring to daily life, at the Leatherby Libraries Student Awards Ceremony on Wednesday, May 8.

This year the library presented its Kevin and Tam Ross Leathery Libraries Undergraduate Research Prizes and the John and Margaret Class Student Collection Contest Awards in a combined ceremony. Capping off the celebration was a talk on the history of movable or “pop-up” books by Margaret Class, a member of the Leatherby Libraries Board and book collector.

The research prizes, endowed this year by a gift from Kevin Ross, associate dean at the library, and his family, honor students who demonstrate extraordinary research skills and use of Leatherby resources. Winners included:  Conny Fasshauer, first place, for “The humanoid demon: Public catharsis in The Monk, Wuthering Heights, and Beloved”; Priya Shah, second place, for “Language, discipline and power: The extirpation of idolatry and indigenous resistance in colonial Peru”; and Phoebe Gidea, third place, for “Death, resurrection, and the power of music.”

The Class Contest encourages students to build themed libraries and celebrate the printed word. Winners include Priya Shah, first place, for a collection on religious transformation of colonial Latin America; Lauren Abel, for a collection focused on California’s suffrage campaign and influence on the national  movement; and a third-place tie to Joel Magruder for a collection dedicated to postcolonial life after British and American Imperialism, and Patricia Realini for a collection focused on contemporary art in exhibitions catalogues, DVDs and books.