2010 – Library Research Award

College Library, in conjunction with the Undergraduate Symposium, recently awarded two research prizes to Richard Qian and Erica Carballo. The third annual Undergraduate Research Awards celebrate excellence and creativity in undergraduate library research. Examples of library research include the literature review for a laboratory study, the use of primary sources in a historical research paper, or the background research for a creative arts project. Applicants are asked to submit a version of their research project, an essay describing their research strategies, and a statement of faculty support.

Both award winners received certificates and cash prizes at the Undergraduate Symposium’s award ceremony on Thursday, April 15, 2010. Richard Qian received the Library Research Award for his project: “Welfare Effects of Mergers in the Airline Industry: A Quantitative Analysis.” His faculty mentor is Raymond Deneckere of the Economics Department.

Erica Carballo’s poster, “Can We Teach Creativity? Developing Play Interventions for Children with Autism” was created under the mentorship of Wendy Machalicek in Education: Rehabilitation Psychology.

Campus librarians on the award committee used the Association of College and Research Libraries’ Information Literacy Standards as the main criteria for assessing the applications for the awards.

Kelli Keclik, public services librarian at College Library, took the lead in creating the awards, setting the selection criteria, managing the application process and providing information sessions about the awards. The cash prizes were provided through General Library System gift funds. The Undergraduate Research Awards will continue to be offered in conjunction with the Undergraduate Symposium in upcoming years.