Armacost Library Undergraduate Research Award

Purpose
The proliferation of electronic information has made research a much more complex process than in the past. At the University of Redlands, students have available to them sources in paper and microfilm, electronically available through subscription databases and journals, as well as freely available on the open Web. Because so much information is available, evaluating sources of information takes increasingly more time and effort. This award was established to reward those students who demonstrate thoughtfulness and creativity in their approach to research and whose work exhibits excellence in critical thinking.

Eligibility

@Be a current University of Redlands undergraduate student (in any class or discipline).

@Eligible projects must have been completed for a University of Redlands credit course during the prior calendar year (e.g. for the 2009 award, eligible projects are those completed during Spring term 2008, May term 2008, or Fall term 2008).

@Projects must be accompanied by a letter of support from the faculty member who taught the course for which the paper/project was produced.

@All application materials will remain the property of the Library. Winning papers/projects will become a part of the Library collection.

Application Requirements and Procedure

Application will consist of:

@Application cover sheet

@Letter/email of support from supervising instructor.

@Research strategy essay (500-750 words) describing research process (including changes in the way student approached searching for information, new tools and resources discovered, interaction with reference librarians, use of interlibrary loan, and how sources were evaluated for credibility and relevance).

@Final version of research paper/project, including bibliography/reference list/ works cited.

Evaluation Criteria

@Make substantial and creative use of library resources in any format.

@Demonstrate effective application of information literacy principles:

@Determining information needs

@Evaluating and analyzing information

@Managing, organizing, and synthesizing information

@Applying information in the context of the research project

@Making responsible use of information by providing appropriate and accurate citations.

@Show evidence of significant personal growth in the methods of research and inquiry.

Award and Deadlines

@A monetary prize of $500.00 will awarded to the most outstanding undergraduate research project.

@Complete application packets must be received by 5:00pm, Friday, March 6.

@Mail or deliver complete application package to:
Armacost Library Undergraduate Research Award Committee
c/o Shana Higgins
1249 E. Colton Ave.
Redlands, CA 92374

@The winner will be notified no later than April 10, 2009. Award recipient and faculty will be honored at a reception near the end of the Spring term.

For forms and guidelines, go to: http://libguides.redlands.edu/UndergradAward.

Welcome Back and a Welcome!

We are happy for the return of the hum of students, faculty, and staff back in the Library as the semester begins. Welcome back! (Unfortunately, we still have the bumps, scrapes, and shrill noises from the construction on the first floor during the day.)

We also welcome a new face to the library, Melissa Cardenas-Dow, a Visiting Reference Librarian. You will see Melissa at the reference desk and visiting your classes, eager to help students in the research process. Melissa has a bachelor's degree in anthropology from San Francisco State University, graduate studies at Claremont in cultural studies, and an MLIS from San Jose State University. She has particular interests in Asian diasporas, cultural anthropology, sociology, games in libraries, web/library 2.0, and the study of popular culture. Melissa is fluent in Tagalog, the native dialect of the Philippines, where she was raised until arriving in the U.S. as a teenager. Some of Melissa's guilty pleasures include World of Warcraft (she is a level 77 female night elf hunter named Linnar in the Sen’Jin realm), Hayao Miyazaki films, William Gibson's cyberpunk Neuromancer trilogy, and Sanrio characters. Come in and ask her some questions!