Creating a Library Research Prize to Reward and Encourage Information Literacy

Student research papers and other similar projects have traditionally been the “bread and butter” of academic libraries. Even in this digital age, the campus library remains the best place to find appropriate resources for these projects, as well as for getting necessary assistance with the scholarly research process. It is an ongoing challenge for academic libraries to make this fact known to the campus community, and to find novel ways to entice students to utilize the library and all it has to offer, rather than depending on less reliable sources. To encourage our students to perform academic research and writing in an information literate way, Morehead State University library created a $500 annual prize. This prize, the “Camden-Carroll Library Prize for Undergraduate Research,” is awarded to the student who best demonstrates how to perform academic research and writing using library resources. Entrants must submit not only their original research paper, but also a faculty recommendation, as well as an essay detailing how they used the library and librarians in the course of completing the project. Thus, we consider the prize to be an award for demonstrating information literacy, not just for writing or research alone. Camden-Carroll Library’s goal is that, in the course of pursuing the monetary award, applicants will become more aware of what information literacy means, and what role the library plays in achieving it. Since faculty must also be involved, the prize helps to spread the message campus-wide that the library remains a vital part of information literacy, scholarly research, and academic success