About the Ann W. and Emanuel D. Rudolph Student Book Awards
Ann and Emanuel Rudolph were avid book collectors. In their lifetimes they collected over 53,000 volumes which they catalogued and preserved in their homes. They also enjoyed sharing their collection with countless students and book lovers. Dr. Rudolph was a professor of plant biology at The Ohio State University for many years, and his wife, Ann, was a librarian with Battelle Memorial Institute.
The Rudolph’s generosity established an endowment to provide a scholarship to encourage young people to develop an interest in books and to pursue collections of their own. From this endowment, awards are provided on a biannual basis to students based upon an essay related to their interest in collecting and preserving books.
Scholarship Award
One undergraduate will be selected to win an award of $1,500.
Winners may use their essay to qualify for the National Collegiate Book Collecting Contest, sponsored by the Antiquarian Booksellers Association of America (ABAA), the Fellowship of American Bibliophilic Societies (FABS) and the Center for the Book and the Rare Books and Special Collections Division. (See the National Collegiate Book Collecting website for more information.)
What Is a Collection?
A collection consists of items that a student has come to own as a consequence of developing a particular interest, which may be academic or not. A collection should reflect a clearly defined unifying theme or interest. How well a collection reflects the collector's intent is more significant than either the number of items or the monetary value of the collection.
Guidelines
Applicants must be a current undergraduate student at The Ohio State University and be enrolled or plan to enroll in course work in the fall at The Ohio State University. At this time graduating seniors are not eligible.
Essays should answer the following:
- A collection of books and related materials may come together based on many factors, including topics, themes, settings, or authors. Discuss your collection and explain why the books and materials are of interest to you, the decision process in acquiring them, or how they enrich your life.
- With the thought of developing a collection, what other materials would you like to collect that are related to those titles you discussed? Include reasons for your choices.
Essays should be 2-4 pages in length double spaced and must include a cover page that contains the following:
- Name
- Undergraduate level
- Major
- Address
- Phone Number
- Email Address
The application window for 2020 has now closed. This scholarship award will next be given in 2022. Deadline information will be available in early January 2022.
Essays will be reviewed according to the rubric below.