Type of Presentation
Individual paper/presentation (20 minute presentation)
Target Audience
Higher Education
Location
Room 218
Proposal
Student research papers and other similar projects have traditionally been the “bread and butter” of academic libraries. Even in this digital age, the campus library remains the best place to find appropriate resources for these projects, as well as for getting necessary assistance with the scholarly research process. It is an ongoing challenge for academic libraries to make this fact known to the campus community, and to find novel ways to entice students to utilize the library and all it has to offer, rather than depending on less reliable sources. To encourage our students to perform academic research and writing in an information literate way, Morehead State University library created a $500 annual prize. This prize, the “Camden-Carroll Library Prize for Undergraduate Research,” is awarded to the student who best demonstrates how to perform academic research and writing using library resources. Entrants must submit not only their original research paper, but also a faculty recommendation, as well as an essay detailing how they used the library and librarians in the course of completing the project. Thus, we consider the prize to be an award for demonstrating information literacy, not just for writing or research alone. Camden-Carroll Library’s goal is that, in the course of pursuing the monetary award, applicants will become more aware of what information literacy means, and what role the library plays in achieving it. Since faculty must also be involved, the prize helps to spread the message campus-wide that the library remains a vital part of information literacy, scholarly research, and academic success.
Short Description
In order to reward and encourage information literacy on campus, the Morehead State library created the ”Camden-Carroll Library Prize for Undergraduate Research.” This $500 annual award is given to the student who best utilizes library resources in the scholarly research and writing process. Our hope is that the prize will help our academic community maintain the vital connection between information literacy and academic success. This presentation will outline all the steps involved in creating, advertising, and awarding a library research prize.
Keywords
Information literacy, Undergraduate research, Academic success, Library research prize
Publication Type and Release Option
Presentation (Open Access)
Recommended Citation
Bailey, Ray and Beaven, Helen, "Creating a Library Research Prize to Reward and Encourage Information Literacy" (2009). Georgia International Conference on Information Literacy. 65.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/gaintlit/2009/2009/65
Creating a Library Research Prize to Reward and Encourage Information Literacy
Room 218
Student research papers and other similar projects have traditionally been the “bread and butter” of academic libraries. Even in this digital age, the campus library remains the best place to find appropriate resources for these projects, as well as for getting necessary assistance with the scholarly research process. It is an ongoing challenge for academic libraries to make this fact known to the campus community, and to find novel ways to entice students to utilize the library and all it has to offer, rather than depending on less reliable sources. To encourage our students to perform academic research and writing in an information literate way, Morehead State University library created a $500 annual prize. This prize, the “Camden-Carroll Library Prize for Undergraduate Research,” is awarded to the student who best demonstrates how to perform academic research and writing using library resources. Entrants must submit not only their original research paper, but also a faculty recommendation, as well as an essay detailing how they used the library and librarians in the course of completing the project. Thus, we consider the prize to be an award for demonstrating information literacy, not just for writing or research alone. Camden-Carroll Library’s goal is that, in the course of pursuing the monetary award, applicants will become more aware of what information literacy means, and what role the library plays in achieving it. Since faculty must also be involved, the prize helps to spread the message campus-wide that the library remains a vital part of information literacy, scholarly research, and academic success.
