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Booth Library

Awards for Excellence in Research & Creativity Guidelines

Introduction

Booth Library at 海角社区 announces its 15th annual awards program to promote and celebrate excellence in student research and creative works. The awards program recognizes student use of the wealth of information resources, expert services, and technology available at Booth Library. A digital copy of winning works will become part of the EIU鈥檚 institutional repository, . Information on past awardees can be found at .

Awards

The Booth Library Awards for Excellence in Student Research and Creativity program is open to all 海角社区 students who are/were enrolled during the current academic year. Prizes of up to $300 will be awarded, in addition to certificates of recognition.

Timetable

Entries must be submitted electronically no later than 11:59 p.m. CST February 29, 2024.  Recipients will be selected by March 29, 2024, and the winners will be honored during National Library Week on April 10, 2024. Work submitted for consideration must have been completed within the last 12 months.

Competition Rules

    1. Both individuals and groups of students may submit an entry, with only one entry accepted per person. If more than one person is involved in a project, please specify each person鈥檚 role and contributions to the work. Only one entry is needed for each group project.
    2. This award recognizes works that featured support or contributions from library personnel, resources or technology. Each applicant(s) must describe what role Booth Library played in the success of the project methods and outcome. For example, did you use library materials or databases? Did you get help from a librarian or staff person, online or in person? Did you use the library鈥檚 computer labs or other spaces? Applicants must describe in detail the library spaces, materials, technologies, services and/or personnel that contributed to this project.

The product of student research and creative activity may take the form of any of the following; however, this list is not intended to be exhaustive.

Written Work

Artistic Work

Exhibit

Musical Work

Video

Podcast

Documentary

Oral History

Performance

Data Analysis or Visualization

 

  1. A list of references is required for all entries that relied on the work of others. The list should contain all primary and secondary sources used in preparing the entry. The use of Internet sources is acceptable; however, the ideal submissions use a variety of sources. When using Internet sources, students must link to the specific record used, not just the general website. Citations and references, including those related to AI (Artificial Intelligence), must follow a standard format, regardless of which style manual is used (see: ).

 

  1. Students should explain the relationship of their submitted work to their education or research interests in general.
  2. All entries must be original works created or finished within the past 12 months. Plagiarism and other breaches of academic integrity will result in disqualification. The use of AI technology may be acceptable, but the submission must disclose this and describe the tools and methods.
  3. All written entries arelimited to 25 pages. Students may choose portions of their theses to submit, in which case a summary and/or outline of the remainder of the document would be appropriate. Students should explore the accepted publication standards in their discipline.
  4. The work submitted must be introduced in such a way that an interdisciplinary panel can understand it.
  5. All proposals submitted for the Booth Library Awards for Excellence in Student Research and Creativityprogram will be used solely to judge the submission for the purpose of receiving an award. However, digital copy of award-winning entries will become part of the library鈥檚 institutional repository, . In some instances of ongoing research, upon request an 鈥渆mbargo鈥 period is possible during which the work will not be publicly accessible for a defined period of time.
  6. Incomplete submissions will not receive full consideration.

Jury 

The Booth Library Awards for Excellence in Student Research and Creativity jury is comprised of members of the Booth Collaborative Advisory Committee.

Judging Criteria

The judges will select the award recipient(s) based on the following criteria:

  1. Use of library resources (25%): Review of the applicant鈥檚 explanation of the role that library spaces, materials, technologies, services and/or personnel played in the success of their project.
  2. Creativity/research (37.5%): Review of the applicant鈥檚 research methodology (the number of resources, primary sources vs. secondary sources, unique sources, creative use of the research to support their conclusion, etc.) or creative process.
  3. Overall excellence (37.5%): Review of the work overall. For research, considerations will include originality, clarity of argument/discussion, absence of errors, quality of citations, originality topic, clarity of conclusion, etc. For creative works and others: originality, technique, appropriateness of chosen format, organization, impact, etc.

For questions or concerns, please contact:

Anna Nelson, Booth Library Marketing Associate

Phone: (217) 581-6064

Email: alnelson5@eiu.edu

 

CONTACT THE LIBRARY

Booth Library

600 Lincoln Ave.
Chaleston, IL 61920
(217) 581-6071
library@eiu.edu

Library Hours

July 26, 2026
All Floors Closed
Research Help Desk Closed
Center for Student Innovation (CSI) Closed

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