George Modlin Book Award

For 50 years, student bibliophiles at the University of Richmond have been receiving prizes for their book collections. Once again, Boatwright Memorial Library is delighted to award an annual prize of $1000 for an outstanding book collection conceived and built by a senior student at the University of Richmond.

Interested senior students should submit their entry via email to ModlinAward@richmond.edu by Wednesday, April 3, 2024.

Entries must include:

  • Personal information: your name, mailing address, telephone number, and email address.
  • An essay of no more than 1500 words describing the objective, history, and direction of your collection.
  • A bibliography of at least 20, but no more than 50, items in the collection arranged by author, date, or another principle of your choice. Entries should follow a standard citation format.
  • A wish list of the three books you would most like to add to your book collection, explaining your reasoning.

The winning collection must be more than a list of texts: it will be a chosen group of printed or manuscript items, creatively put together. The collection must have been started by the student, and all items in the collection must be owned by them. A collection may include printed books, manuscripts, zines, and/or ephemera; it may be organized by theme, author, illustrator, publisher, printing technique, binding style, or another clearly articulated principle.

The prize will be a check for $1000.00 and a certificate of recognition. Sample items from the winning collection, curated by the student, may be exhibited in Boatwright Library. The recipient will be acknowledged in the Commencement Program, and their name will also be added George Matthews Modlin Award for Student Book Collections winners list on display in Boatwright Memorial Library. 

The essay has the honor of representing the University of Richmond in the National Collegiate Book Collecting Contest, organized by The Antiquarian Booksellers' Association of America (ABAA), the Fellowship of American Bibliophilic Societies (FABS), the Grolier Club, and the Center for the Book and the Rare Books and Special Collections Division (Library of Congress). Please note that per the ABAA's contest rules, the winning essay will be entered exactly as submitted to the George Matthews Modlin Award for Student Book Collections contest, without possibility of revision.

For more information, please contact Lynda Kachurek, Head Rare Books and Special Collections, Boatwright Memorial Library at (804) 289-8458 or email ModlinAward@richmond.edu

The George Matthews Modlin Award for Student Book Collections was established by the faculty of the University of Richmond in 1971 to honor Dr. George M. Modlin upon his retirement as president of the University of Richmond and to encourage undergraduate students to develop focused collections of books pertaining to their particular areas of interest. Collections are eligible for the award only during the student’s senior year.

Gitobu Photo2024 Modlin Award Winner:
Makena Gitobu

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  • Modlin Award Past Recipients

    Year

    Recipient Name

    Collection Title

    1973

    Sandra Lee Snidow

    Classical Music Library

    1974

    William Rust Norris

    Science Fiction & Fantasy

    1976

    Elizabeth Rhodes Brimm

    Hispanic-Related Books

    1977

    Rhett McPherson

    Scottish Highland Bagpipe Music

    1978

    James Edward Cumbie

    Medieval European History

    1979

    Howard Franklin Crotzer, Jr.

    English Literature

    1981

    Elizabeth W. Andrews

    Horses & Horsemanship

    1982

    Judith G.Suben

    Language & Thought

    1984

    Christopher K. Smith

    Theater & Directing

    1984

    Edward C. Cleary

    Postmodernist Fiction

    1985

    John Scott Hudgins

    Jewish History

    1986

    Peter S. Kirkpatrick

    French Politics

    1987

    Michael Bruce Compton

    Understanding Biblical Language

    1988

    James R. Luck, Jr.

    A Search For God

    1989

    Louis T. Manarin

    The Roman Empire

    1990

    Mark H. Danley

    Military History

    1991

    James H. Carter, IV

    Intellectual Development of Modern China

    1992

    Cynthia Paces

    Czechoslovakia’s Cultural Heritage

    1993

    Michael T. Williams

    French Philosophy

    1994

    Kristina M. Thomas

    Dogs In Fact And Fiction

    1995

    Sonia J. Banerji

    South Asian Culture & History

    1996

    Kelly E. Broxton

    Social Change of Education & Women Studies

    1997

    Wesley C. Kelly

    Classics And Philosophy Minor Focus On Linguistic Philosophy

    1998

    Lee A. Scott

    Books My Passport - The Journey To The East

    1999

    Steven Pate

    A Literature Francais: An Education Through Literature

    2000

    Josh J. Clough

    The American Indian and U.S. Western History

    2001

    Thomas A. Calder

    A Collection For The Study of

    East Asia From Its Roots to Today

    2002

    Barrett Matthew Emerick

    Search For Truth

    2003

    Amy Robin Hoffman

    Edward Gorey and the World of the Gothic

    2004

    Erin Bartels

    Reclaiming and Reinventing the South & Southernness

    2005

    Chase Rowan

    Politics, Plato and Pinot Noir: my library as an independent liberal arts education

    2006

    Patrick Elgin

    Military Leadership - Personal and Universal

    2006

    Patrick Salland

    The World of Pharaohs

    2007

    Carmen del Valle Hermo

    Hispanic Heritage: Hispanic and Latino Art

    2008

    Jacob Neal

    What’s the Use of Truth? Queering the Face of Philosophy by Way of Richard Rorty

    2009

    Rebecca Frazier

    Making Connections: A Collection Exploring the Intersections of Psychology, Gender, and Leadership

    2010

    Robert Lindstrom

    Why Do I Collect Golf Books?

    2010

    Daniel Rudary

    European and Early American History

    2011

    Abigail S. Novak

    Evaluating Education Reform: The Importance of Race, Class, and Gender in Understanding America’s Education Crisis

    2011

    Schuyler Swartout

    The Order of Things

    2012

    Caroline Cobert

    Ancient Egyptain Mummies

    2013

    Katie C. Freeman

    The Evolution of Knowledge: A Curious Literary Journey in Understanding Life from Neurons to Nebulas

    2013

    Sam Crusemire

    The New Yorker in a Virginian

    2014

    Brian Guay

    Bridging the Gap between Political Science and Psychology Using Tibetan Studies

    2015

    Kassie Andreadis

    Female-Led Speculative Fiction

    2015

    Melissa Diamond

    Middle East Peace and Conflicts

    2016

    Marissa Parker

    Sustainability & the Environment

    2017

    Damian Hondares

    Understanding Cuba, Then and Now

    2018

    Aheema Gazi

    Doctors as Superheroes

    2019

    Azin Bahari

    Tales of the Perpetual Outsider: The Iranian Immigrant Identity

    2020

    Colin Michael Pohlman

    Agrarian Pasts, Presents, and Futures

    2021

    Casey Murano

    Adventures of a Creative Pilgrim

    2022

    Miquell Shaw

    Black Studies Collection

    2023

    Shira Greer

    Lessons in Black Feminism from the Books I Passed on the Way