Highlights an academic student research competition that takes place yearly at The College at Brockport, SUNY, from the first steps of advertising the competition to the final step of awarding the prizes.  The purpose of this competition is to encourage student research and engagement with Library staff and the rich array of resources and information the Library makes available.  Friends of the Library award prizes of $500 for First, $300 for Second, and $150 for Third place finishes.  With the help of the library staff the Friends solicit submissions from students through advertisements in the student newspaper and in departments across campus.  The Scholarly Communications unit in the library helps to support this endeavor by providing a platform for students to submit their work, as well as to showcase the winners of the awards each year.  The submissions are read by a committee of Friends and library staff, with the top three winners announced in the early spring, invited to a luncheon and awarded their prizes

Cowling, Charlie

Kegler, Jennifer Little

Myers, Kim

English

The College at Brockport, State University of New York: Digital Commons @Brockport

The College at Brockport: State University of New York
Digital Commons @Brockport
Library Publications and Presentations
11-8-2018
A FRIENDLY student research competition
Jennifer Little Kegler
The College at Brockport, jkegler@brockport.edu
Charlie Cowling
The College at Brockport
Kim Myers
The College at Brockport
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Repository Citation
Kegler, J.L., Cowling, C.V., & Myers, K. (2018, November). A FRIENDly student research competition. Poster session presented at the
meeting of the New York Library Association, Rochester, NY.
A FRIENDly Student Research Competition 
Jennifer Little Kegler
Kim Myers & Charlie Cowling
Librarians
Drake Memorial Library
NYLA Annual Conference
Rochester, NY
November 8, 2018 
Abstract
• Highlights an academic student research competition that takes place yearly 
at The College at Brockport, SUNY, from the first steps of advertising the 
competition to the final step of awarding the prizes.  
• The purpose of this competition is to encourage student research and 
engagement with Library staff and the rich array of resources and 
information the Library makes available. 
• Friends of the Library award prizes of $500 for First, $300 for Second, and 
$150 for Third place finishes.  
• With the help of the library staff the Friends solicit submissions from 
students through advertisements in the student newspaper and in 
departments across campus.  
• The Scholarly Communications unit in the library helps to support this 
endeavor by providing a platform for students to submit their work, as well 
as to showcase the winners of the awards each year.  
• The submissions are read by a committee of Friends and library staff, with 
the top three winners announced in the early spring, invited to a luncheon 
and awarded their prizes. 
Friends of Drake Library (FODL)
The Friends of Drake Memorial 
Library (FODL) was founded in 
2014 for the Drake Memorial 
Library at The College at 
Brockport, State University of 
New York.  
An interested emeriti faculty 
member, Virginia Campbell, 
approached librarian and 
archivist, Charlie Cowling,  and 
they started the group with the 
assistance of the college’s 
Advancement Office.  
FODL Goals
Friends of Drake Library Goals
• The goals of the Friends of Drake Memorial Library 
are to:
• Increase public awareness for the resources, programs, 
exhibits and other activities of Drake Memorial Library 
and The Rose Archives.
• Create opportunities for alumni of the College and other 
community members to become active supporters of 
Drake Memorial Library and The Rose Archives.
• Work collaboratively with library administration, 
librarians, staff and local community organizations as 
appropriate to enhance the library mission of service to 
our students, faculty and staff.
FODL Goals (cont’d)
• To achieve these goals, the Friends of Drake 
Memorial Library seek to:
• Increase the membership of FODL.
• Support and attend Library and Archives events and 
activities.
• Explore ways to advocate, volunteer and participate in 
Library and Archives programs.
• Create a Friends of Drake Library fund through the 
Brockport Foundation.
• Recognize and celebrate important Library/Archives 
events, accomplishments and milestones. 
Undergraduate Research Competition
• A student research competition helps to meet the goal of 
the Friends of “increasing public awareness of the 
[library] resources”.  
• It also meets the library’s strategic goal of: “Promote 
Drake Library to our intellectual community by expanding 
visibility of library staff.”
• We limit it to undergraduate students in order to equate 
the requirements to a solid undergraduate research 
paper.  
• We gathered ideas from awards given on our campus and 
from alumni who were members of other academic 
library friends groups. 
Other Awards on Campus
• Douglas A. Feldman LGBT Paper Award
• Faculty member Doug Feldman, a member of the FODL, met with 
the group several times to help determine parameters for the 
competition as well as prize award amounts.
• He recommended that we start with a submission number of 20 
papers, in order to keep it a manageable size. 
• English Department Awards
• They have several awards that they give to students.
• Their department secretary is a member of the FODL and helped 
to provide background on how awards were supported.
Inspiration from Others
Alumni at other universities
• North Hall Library, Mansfield University
• Library director is a Brockport alumnus
• Must use “library print and electronic resources”
• Gives two prizes of $150 each for a 5 and a 10 page paper
• http://lib.mansfield.edu/info/prize
• UMass Amherst
• Member of the Friends group is a Brockport alumnus
• More specific, must use “historical primary sources” 
• $1000 first prize and $250 second prize
• https://www.library.umass.edu/news/announcements/flura2017/
Inspiration from Others
Another academic library
• Connecticut College Prize for Undergraduate Library Research, 
Sponsored by the Friends of the Library
• Must describe the research process, including library resources used
• $500 prize for one paper
• http://conncoll.libguides.com/libprize
Using the Institutional Repository
• Our Institutional repository specialist, Kim Myers, an 
active member of FODL, suggested that we use the 
repository, not only to showcase the winners, but as 
the platform for submissions as well.
• Digital Commons, https://digitalcommons.brockport.edu/
• Kim set up the site, so that students could submit 
their papers online.  In the back end of the system 
the evaluators have access to the papers which can 
be read there or printed out.  
• Once the winners are announced, Kim uploads those 
papers to the appropriate place on the site.  
Digital Repository Screenshot
Current Entry Guidelines
• The contest is open to The College at Brockport matriculated 
undergraduate students enrolled during the Spring 2018 or Fall 
2018 semesters who completed papers during that time 
frame.
• Entries may be works submitted for a class or a paper written 
for a group, club, community organization, etc.
• Papers must be a minimum of 9 and a maximum of 20 pages 
and be formatted in a standard citation style including a clearly 
documented bibliography or works cited list.
• There must be a minimum of 10 references.
• Entries are limited to one per person. Clearly and concisely 
describe your use of extensive scholarly and creative resources 
appropriate for your paper.
Timeline and Prizes
• Contest submissions, written in Spring 2018 or Fall 2018, 
will be collected from Wednesday, January 2, 2019 
through midnight on Sunday, February 10, 2019.
• The contest is limited to the first 20 completed 
applications received.
• Entries will be reviewed from February 11 through 
March 31, 2019.
• Winners will be notified in April 2019.
• Prizes: $500 for First , $300 for Second, and $150 for 
Third place.
Advertising the Competition
• Daily Eagle announcement 
– the campus’ online 
publicity venue.  Targeted 
both faculty and students 
through separate posts.  
One example is on the 
right.
• A printed flyer distributed 
in departmental offices 
throughout the campus.
Student Newspaper Ad
An ad was placed in the 
student newspaper, the 
Brockport Stylus, and 
run twice.
Evaluation Team
• The evaluation team consists of two librarians and 
one emeriti faculty member.  All are members of 
FODL.
• They each have access to the Digital Commons 
repository where they can read the papers and the 
statement concerning library resource usage.
• Additional members are currently being sought.
• Each member commits to reading the papers and 
using the rubric to evaluate them.
Submission Topics
• In the first year of the competition the majority of 
the submissions came from the English and History 
departments.  All three winners were papers written 
for history classes.
• In the second year there was a broader range of 
submissions from departments across campus. The 
three winning papers were written for an earth 
science course, a health studies course, and a music 
course.  
Evaluation Process
• Papers that do not meet the basic requirements 
(minimum pages and references) did not go through 
the scoring process.
• Each person reads the papers and scores them 
numerically, based on the evaluation rubric.  
• The team then meets together to compare the 
results, discuss the papers and scores, and determine 
the winners.
Evaluation Rubric
Exceeds Expectations 3 Meets expectations 2 Approaches Expectations 1 Does not meet Expectations 0
A. Use of specific 
library resources
Exemplary use of discipline-
specific tools (such as PsycInfo or 
America: History and Life), 
complex search strategies, and/or 
consultations with librarians or 
faculty.
Identifies basic keyword 
searching; identifies the use of 
the library catalog or 
multidisciplinary databases like 
Academic search Complete.
Identifies or misidentifies (e.g. the 
“library database” or “Ebsco”) only 
general search tools, little to no 
mention of specific search strategies
Little or no mention of specific library 
resources (e.g., only mentions Google or 
a basic web search)
B. Extent to which 
library research 
has informed the 
project
Outlines the centrality and use of 
an exemplary array of resources 
(e.g. books, articles, archival 
materials) and services.
Clearly identifies library 
resources’ relevance to the 
project without demonstrating 
their centrality to it. 
Demonstrates minimal familiarity with 
the library and in relation to the 
project.
Mostly or wholly unclear how the project 
connects to the library and its resources.
C. Creative and 
Extensive use of 
information 
resources
Shows creativity through variety 
of sources chosen; Uses sources 
extensively throughout the paper.
Shows some creativity through 
some of the sources chosen, 
Uses sources occasionally 
throughout the paper.
Shows little creativity through sources 
chosen, Inconsistent use of sources 
throughout paper. 
Does not show creativity through sources 
chosen, does not use sources throughout 
paper.
E. Correct citation 
and crediting of 
resources
Consistent formatting of citation 
in a recognizable standard style.
Consistent formatting of 
citation, but not in a standard 
style.
Inconsistent formatting of citations. Lack of clear citation of all material.
F. Appropriate 
Academic 
Writing
Excellently written paper, no 
grammatical or punctuation 
mistakes, suitable to be published 
online.
Well-written paper, few 
grammatical or punctuation 
mistakes, suitable to be 
published online. 
Average written paper, several 
grammatical and punctuation 
mistakes, not suitable for online 
publication without revision.
Poorly written paper, many grammatical 
and punctuation mistakes, unsuitable for 
online publication.
Notification to Winners
• Winners are contacted via email and phone.
• The library director and members of the FODL meet with 
them in person.
• The first year they were invited to a celebration in the 
library during a faculty/staff event of published authors 
which the President also attended.  They also were 
invited to a special luncheon, which included library 
student worker award winners as well. 
• The second year they were invited to a special luncheon 
in the library and received their awards there.  
Winners’ Celebrations
President awarding Student Award winners
(with the research award plaque)
Informal Feedback Collected
• During the luncheons we asked students about the 
library and their experiences with research.
• Several students admitted that they wished they had 
known more about the library resources before they 
were enrolled in their upper level courses.
• The luncheons provided a networking opportunity 
for students with librarians for future work in the 
library.
• Students wondered if the databases we have would 
be available to them when they went to graduate 
school.
Competition Benefits
• Raises the visibility of the Friends of Drake Library, 
both for students and faculty.
• Generates a friendly competition between 
departments on campus for paper submissions and 
potential winners.
• Encourages students to interact with librarians and 
use library information resources.
• Encourages librarians to see the variety and scope of 
information resources used for different disciplines.
Competition Challenges
• Evaluating the entries is a time-consuming process.
• Finding a time to meet with everyone can be  difficult, 
especially since one is a “snow bird.”
• Need more “friends” or faculty involvement, as two 
evaluators are also librarians. 
• Recruiting more evaluators is a goal we have had each 
year. This year we hope to add at least one more, 
hopefully a faculty member.  
• In the first two iterations of the contest it was difficult to 
tell to what extent the student had used the library and 
its resources. To that end we created a new library 
resources statement requirement for the 2019 
competition.
New Requirement for 2019
All applications for the research writing 
competition must include a library research 
statement describing your research process. 
Please include this statement as a separate, first 
page of your research paper submission. 
Here are some questions to help you get started with your 
statement.
• Describe how you started your research and how you chose 
your topic. Did you use any specific library or information 
resources? Did you consult with any librarians, faculty, or 
other staff?
• Describe how you found the information for this project. 
While information sources are not limited to library 
resources, it is essential to describe how the library was 
important to this process.
Additional Library Questions
• Did you consult with any librarians or library staff?
• What databases did you use to locate articles? Try to be as 
specific as you can, going beyond Ebsco to databases like 
America: History and Life or ScienceDirect.
• What type of search strategies did you use to locate the 
information? This can include websites and other 
information resources.
• Did you use any specific sources in the library?
• What library services did you use?
• Describe how you evaluated the resources you found. 
How did you narrow your sources from ones you 
consulted to the ones that are included in your research 
paper?
Testimony from Student Winner
To The Friends of the Drake Library, 
Last year I won the 1st place prize for the FODL Research Writing 
Award. At the time I was notified I won my life was in upheaval. 
Recovering from a second wrist surgery and losing my disability 
benefits, I was uncertain if I would be returning to complete my 
degree in the fall of 2017. The award money helped provide a 
cushion that allowed me to search for work without the stress of 
being forced to take whatever I could find. The luncheon that I 
attended as a result of winning the award helped me to network 
and meet my eventual boss, Pat Maxwell. This award was crucial to 
my ability to return to school this fall, and now I will be graduating 
in May. I am grateful to the Friends of the Drake Library for 
providing students with a way to have their hard work highlighted 
and honored. Without this award I am not sure I would have 
returned to graduate. 
Sincerely, 
Teresa Rodriguez 
Links
Thank you for attending this session!
Jennifer Kegler:  jkegler@brockport.edu
A FRIENDly student research competition (this presentation)
https://works.bepress.com/jennifer_kegler/
Friends of Drake Library LibGuide
https://library.brockport.edu/friends
Presence on Digital Commons:
https://digitalcommons.brockport.edu/fodl/


A FRIENDLY student research competition

https://digitalcommons.brockport.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1032&amp;context=drakepubs

A FRIENDLY student research competition

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The College at Brockport, State University of New York: Digital Commons @Brockport