Musicology graduate wins top prize in National Collegiate Book Collecting Contest

Bailey Pike, a graduate from the University of Kansas School of Music musicology program ('09), recently won an essay prize from The Antiquarian Booksellers Association of America 2010 National Collegiate Book Collecting Contest.

Pike won for her essay entitled "The Mythology of Mozart." She is a master's student at the University of Illinois, and studied at KU for her musicology undergraduate degree under Professor Paul Laird. While at KU, she won the KU Library Book Collecting Contest twice.

After a two year hiatus, the National Collegiate Book Collecting Contest was reinstated under the joint leadership of the Antiquarian Booksellers Association of America, the Fellowship of American Bibliophilic Societies, the Center for the Book, and the Rare Books and Special Collections Division of the Library of Congress, with major support from the Jay I. Kislak Foundation.

The judges of the contest chose winners based on the depth and range of the student's interests, the zeal with which the student acquired material for the collection, the enthusiasm and expertise shown in describing the collection, and the inherent possibilities for further expansion.

Prizes were awarded to the winning students and the libraries of the institutions from which they hailed. The awards ceremony took place on October 15, 2010, at the Library of Congress.

For more information, contact the KU School of Music at 785-864-3436. www.music.ku.edu