Cal Poly

Book Collection Competition

Open to Cal Poly students, faculty, staff and San Luis Obispo community members, the Kennedy Library and Special Collections department welcome submissions from book lovers who have collected seven or more thematically related books over time.

Awards are given for the top entrant in each category. Winners from the 2012 competition in each category had a portion of their collection, their essay and bibliography exhibited as part of the exhibit, Pressing Forward: The Book Club of California at 100, hosted by Robert E. Kennedy Library at Cal Poly during spring 2012. The top two student collectors received a one-year student membership to the Book Club of California and gift cards to El Corral Bookstore.

Criteria

Books must be owned and collected by the entrant. A collection is judged by the extent to which it represents a well-defined, unified concept. Essays are judged by how they demonstrate the collector's dedication as well as explain the collection's originality, creativity and potential for growth.

Three categories of eligibility:

• Cal Poly students
• Cal Poly faculty and staff
• San Luis Obispo community members

2012 Winners

Student Winners

Chaz Daum, Graphic Communication & Business (2012)
Theme — Illustrated Horse Novels of the 1970s

Susie Kopecky, English, Graduate Student (2012)
Theme — American Presidents

Student Honorable Mention

Meagan Gonzaga, English (2012)
Theme — Paperback Spider

Faculty/Staff Winner

Allan Cooper, Professor Emeritus, Architecture
Theme — Illustrated Antiquarian Books

Faculty/Staff Honorable Mention

Jeff Van Kleeck, Art & Design
Theme — Photography

Community Member

Richard Enfield
Theme — Literature of the American West

Community Honorable Mention

Heidi Harmon
Theme — Red

Resources & Inspiration

Books at Kennedy Library:

• Book Collecting: A Beginner's Guide by Seumas Stewart. (Z987 .S73 1979)
• Dr. Rosenbach and Mr. Lilly: Book Collecting in a Golden Age by Joel Silver. (Z280 .S45 2010)

Amazing Personal Libraries:

• Libraries of the Rich and Famous (Flavorwire)

More Information

Peter Runge
Special Collections and University Archives, room 409
Kennedy Library, Cal Poly
San Luis Obispo, CA 93407

(805) 756-2305 • archives@calpoly.edu

The Book Collection Competition is sponsored by Kennedy Library and Special Collections & University Archives.

Images

Collection of Allan Cooper. Wood, Rev. J. G. Homes without Hands. London: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1880. 632pp and marbled fore-edge. © Cal Poly. Courtesy Special Collections. Image by Kaori Funahashi

Collage of 2012 Winners, Courtesy Special Collections.