University Libraries is offering a $500 award this semester to undergraduate students who have made extraordinary use of Carolina's library resources while completing research projects for class.

Application deadline for the new award is April 17; the award will be presented at a May 2 reception. To apply, students should submit a copy of the class project and a 500- to 700-word essay describing the process in which they used library resources to complete the project.

"This competition is open to undergraduates who completed projects in summer or fall 2007 or this spring," said Marilee Birchfield, a Thomas Cooper Library reference librarian and chair of the Undergraduate Research Award Review Panel. "We'll consider the originality and creativity of the project itself and the student's approach to research and how they used library resources to accomplish that.

"I would imagine the top-prize winner will probably have a project that's beyond a regular term paper, but I would encourage someone to apply who wrote a term paper but took a novel approach in using the library's resources."

Other examples of class project research involving library resources could include use of materials from Rare Books and Special Collections, clips from the Newsfilm Library, or extensive use of interlibrary loans.

To learn more about the award, go to www.sc.edu/library/undergradaward.html or e-mail libaward@gwm.sc.edu.

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