2025 Contest

The awardees in the 2025 Book Collecting Contest are:

Graham Testen, for Paths through Time.

Davin Faris, for How to Fall in Love with the World.

Congratulations to both awardees. The 2025 Book Collecting Contest exhibit is open in the library's Nutt Room from February 17th to May 1st, 2025.

Contest Guidelines

The 2026 contest will open for entries in January, 2026.

We love books. You love books, and we know that you have personal book collections that are focused on a theme or topic. Share your interest, and your collection, by entering the Greenfield Library book-collecting contest. Current SJCA students, faculty, and staff are eligible to enter, as well as faculty & staff spouses / partners.

Each entrant is limited to a single submission which should include 10 or more books.

All items in the collection must be owned and collected by the entrant.

Collections may contain hardbacks and paperbacks.

Collections must be based on a unifying principle that has personal significance to you. This personal significance should be explained in the brief bibliographic essay.

The theme of your collection can be broad or narrow. Some examples include:

• books on a particular topic,
• signed books,
• books with elaborate bindings,
• books in a specific genre,
• books with a particular purpose - such as travel books or cook books,
• books for a specific audience such as children’s books,
• illustrated books connected by a theme, audience, or artist
• books published by a specific press
• books written by a particular author.

This should not be considered an exhaustive or limiting list. You should enter any collection unified by a theme that can be explained in the brief bibliographic essay.

Collections do not need to consist of rare materials and will not be judged on dollar value or size.

Awardees will be required to loan at least 10 books of their choice to the Greenfield Library for the Book Collecting Contest exhibit from January to April 2026.

Prizes

There are monetary prizes for the entries that place first and second in the contest. In addition, the first-place honoree is encouraged to enter the National Collegiate Book-Collecting Contest.

View some sample entries:

• 2018 first-place entry: From the Pen to the Pen by Angel Pantoja
• 2022 first-place entry: Books about Words by Magnolia Vandiver

Questions

Please email greenfield.library(at)sjc.edu for more details or with questions.