Book Collecting Contests in the Digital Age: Relevance and Impact of New Media

Abstract

The Snyder Book Collecting Contest at the University of Kansas is among the oldest and longest running contests of its type among university campuses in the US. As book formats have evolved and online media expanded in the publishing and scholarly communities, book collecting contests have tended to hold onto print as a medium seemingly unique to the art of collecting. In its 55th year, however, the Snyder contest officially expanded its rules to include the eligibility of new media, similar to what library collections might contain. The inclusion of expanded media involved a variety of new issues to the practice of collecting and the evolving role of the library. Exploring the literature of collecting practices, as well as the experiences of other contests of this type, the researchers reveal both theoretical and practical issues to address when including digital content in such contests, including: the evolving perspective of what constitutes a work and what constitutes ownership, educating potential entrants on copyright in the digital environment, and marketing the libraries’ relevance in print and digital mediums.