Winners crowned at the 68th annual Snyder Book Collecting Contest
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LAWRENCE — The University of Kansas Libraries recently honored 11 student finalists and awarded cash prizes at the 68th annual Snyder Book Collecting Contest.
The contest, established in 1956 by libraries donor Elizabeth Snyder, is designed to encourage students to experience the joy of building personal libraries that highlight their unique interests and passions.
Jessina Emmert, a sixth-year doctoral candidate in women, gender & sexuality studies from Lawrence, won first place in the graduate division for “African American History and Children's Literature: Slavery to Civil Rights.” In remarks after receiving the award, Emmert explained she began building the collection five years ago to help her young nieces and nephews engage with difficult history in age-appropriate ways.
“They are so beautiful and so innocent that when they would ask me questions about what slavery was, I would almost feel a gut punch to my stomach because I wasn't sure how to go about some of these difficult topics,” she said.
With the announcement of her award, Emmert was expecting a jubilant phone call with her younger family members.
“(There’s going to be) a lot of screaming,” Emmert said. “Basically, a lot of screaming and a lot of clapping. So it's the best, actually. It's better than the award amount — their reactions.”
Riley Verdict, a religious studies and philosophy major from Kansas City, Kansas, won first place in the undergraduate division for “Gaudiya Vaishnavism: A History and Living Theology,” a collection exploring the Vaishnava devotional tradition rooted in 16th century Bengal.
Verdict said his unlikely path to the subject began with a lifelong immersion in Beatles music. George Harrison's well-known connection to the Hare Krishna movement led Verdict to a Wikipedia rabbit hole, then to a temple visit in Kansas City, and eventually to academic sources and a research trip to India.
In remarks during the ceremony, he described a collection that blends devotional works with scholarship from the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies, calling the experience of meeting its scholars in India one that “expanded my horizons beyond any conceivable boundary.“
Stephanie Stillo, chief of the Rare Book and Special Collections Division at the Library of Congress and a KU alumna, delivered the evening's keynote address. Stillo received her doctorate in modern European history from KU in 2014. She described how her journey into rare books began at Kenneth Spencer Research Library, where access to a Renaissance portolan chart — a detailed, hand-drawn map — and encouragement from generous librarians, set her on a career path she described as a series of illuminated steps.
Drawing on her work as curator of the Lessing J. Rosenwald Collection and her current role overseeing more than 1 million rare items at the Library of Congress, Stillo urged the student collectors in the room to see their work as part of a long, vital tradition. Invoking philosopher Walter Benjamin's concept of the “magic circle,” a deeply personal, intuitive logic that governs what a collector brings into their world, Stillo underscored how private collectors are essential partners in the ongoing work of libraries.
“Your magic circles challenge us to consider and reconsider our own collecting strategies,” Stillo said. “Not just for us, but for those whom the library will nourish and support once we are nothing more than a memory.”
Stillo also served as a judge of the contest alongside Beth Whittaker, executive associate dean of KU Libraries and director of Spencer Research Library; Joan Golden, a member of the KU Libraries Board of Advocates; and Nick Hoekstra, a doctoral student in special education and last year's graduate division winner.
In the undergraduate division, second place went to Kate Boyer, Overland Park, for “Friendship Is Truly Magical: Literary Lessons on Creating and Maintaining Friendships Through My Little Pony.” Boyer, who was diagnosed with autism at age 10, described the franchise as a framework that helped her learn to express herself and connect with others.
An honorable mention went to Aaron Garding, Wichita, for “Pride, Sense, Friendship and Persuasion: A Collection of Jane Austen Novels.” Garding, who traced his collecting to a 99-cent paperback find at a Wichita Goodwill, closed his remarks with a line from “Pride and Prejudice” he said has guided his life — “my courage always rises with every attempt to intimidate me” — encouraging others to find their own inspiration and confidence, both in their lives and book collections.
Additional undergraduate finalists were Hannah Latimer, Overland Park, for her collection “You Gotta Love a Love Story,” and Nash Rosado, Overland Park, for “My America.”
In the graduate division, second place was awarded to Naomi Galindo, El Dorado, for “Mapping the Soviet Union: A Language Tour of the USSR.” Galindo, who began the collection as a high school sophomore, announced at the ceremony that she had just learned she was a Fulbright semifinalist to Uzbekistan, a path she attributed to the “domino effect” of her love of languages that her collection represents.
Honorable mention went to Travis Miller for “What I Talk About When I Talk About Murakami: A Collection of Haruki Murakami Fiction and Nonfiction.” Miller said the chance to discuss the collection with others was one of the best aspects of participating in the contest.
“I really appreciate this kind of event for creating this sort of community around this idea of collecting,” he said. “I think it's such a fascinating thing.”
Additional graduate finalists included Ellie Biebesheimer for “Learning for Less: Nonfiction Books Purchased from Lawrence Public Library Book Sales”; Alec Lininger, St. Louis, for “Star Wars Publishing: The Literature of a Galaxy Far, Far Away”; and Paige Trevarrow, Lincoln, Nebraska, for “Pages of Pride: A Collection of Queer Stories.”
Each winner received a cash prize as well as a gift card from contest co-sponsor Jayhawk Ink, which will also display the top collections in a case outside the bookstore in the Kansas Union through May 4.
Cash awards are made possible by an endowment fund created by Snyder. First place winners in each division are eligible to compete in the National Collegiate Book Collecting Contest, which awards a top prize of $2,500.
For the third consecutive year, contestants were invited to “Inspired by Snyder,” a pop-up exhibit comprised of related materials in Spencer Research Library. Curated by Special Collections Curator Eve Wolynes, also a Snyder Book Collecting Contest committee member, the exhibit draws links between each student collection and thematic or supplemental materials in KU Libraries’ distinctive collections. All contestants were invited to view materials the day before the competition in Spencer’s Johnson Room.
This year’s Snyder Book Collecting Committee consisted of co-chairs Jason Dean, rare materials cataloging librarian, and Wendy Conover, assistant director of advancement communications, as well as undergraduate engagement librarian Sarah McCall, digitization specialist Warren Lambert, KU Bookstore print production manager Rachel Barnes and libraries events coordinator Jamie Young.