Medieval manuscripts, fishing guides, novels and bookmarks filled large tables in Uris Library's Kinkeldy Room April 14. Each collection was a finalist in Cornell University Library's sixth annual Book Collection Contest.

Collections on any subject were eligible. In previous years winning collections have focused on beekeeping, children's literature, science and graphic novels. Entrants define what ties their collections together in an abstract and essay. They also provide a 50-item bibliography and a 10-item wish list of books they would like to possess.

Rebecca Grant '08 and graduate philosophy student Lawrence Bruce-Robinson were announced as first place winners in the undergraduate and graduate student categories.

David Corson, a contest judge and curator of the History of Science Collection in Rare and Manuscript Collections, said this year's entries were "phenomenal."

Some collections were tied to academic or professional interests, and some are assembled purely for pleasure. Grant noted in her essay that her collection, "12 Boxes," is not systematic.

"It might seem ridiculous to transport 12 bulging boxes every time I move, but for me, there is no alternative," Grant wrote. "As I matured and as my interests changed, so did my book collection. To see my collection is to see me, my knowledge, my interests, and my personality. It expresses me better than perhaps I could myself, and as I grow, it too shall grow."

In the abstract to his collection, "An Angler's Library," Bruce-Robinson wrote: "I began reading angling literature long before I ever fished, but I started seriously collecting works when I had gained enough experience as an angler to discern what was thoughtfully written. My collecting began as a very practical pursuit: I wanted to be the best angler I could be."

"We look at the creativity and originality of what they're collecting, as well as how they articulate it," said judge Lance Heidig, a Cornell reference librarian. "Everyone has his own story, and it's fascinating. We joke that there must be a 'book gene' in people who become librarians, book dealers, bookstore owners and collectors of books."

The Book Collection Contest ran from 1966 until the 1987 death of its sponsor, Arthur H. Dean. Former University Librarian Sarah Thomas revived the contest in 2002. It is promoted through flyers, a poster (this year featuring George Lincoln Burr, Andrew Dickson White's personal librarian), in a Facebook ad and on a Web site: http://www.library.cornell.edu/bookcontest/index.html.

In 1986, Ronald D. Moore '86 earned an honorable mention for his "Star Trek" collection and went on to become a writer for "Star Trek" and "Battlestar Galactica," which he discusses in a podcast interview available at http://libecast.library.cornell.edu/. Recent first-place winners have won the national Collegiate Book Collecting Championship, whose founder, Fine Books and Collections magazine editor Scott Brown, called Cornell's competition "the powerhouse among collecting contests."

Three undergraduates won honorable mentions: Corinne Brenner '08, for "Beautiful Things: Collecting Personal Narratives"; Stephen Pietruszka '10, for "The Greatest Thing You'll Ever Learn"; and Ben Williams '10, for "Cult Classics."

In the graduate category, second prize went to Deborah Marcum for "Representing the Medieval Manuscript: Text and Illumination"; and a tie for third prize went to Aaron Ralby for "Unlocking the Wordhoard" and Tsitsi Jaji for "The Banished Poets' Society." Sarah Reynolds received special recognition for "Bookmarks from Around the World."

Said Marcum: "A contest like this just feeds our obsession with books!"