The Swem Library's Special Collections Research Center is seeking your story of discovery for the I Found It In the Archives! contest.
The I Found It In The Archives! contest is an opportunity for you to submit a short story of your quest for information in Swem’s Special Collections. The story – submitted either as a 400-word written essay or as a video recording of no more than two minutes – should tell your tale of discovery and show the results of your search. So if you found something special in our diverse archival collections - – be it records, documents, photos, recordings, artifacts or other treasures - we would love to hear about it. Your entry should describe the personal value your research findings have to you. If it is meaningful to you, it will be meaningful to us and many others and is a story worth sharing.
Entries must be submitted to Swem Library's Special Collections via email (spcoll@wm.edu) or delivered on a downloadable device by 12 p.m. local time on Monday, February 4th. Written entries should be attached as a Word document or pasted into the body of the email; video entries should be submitted as MPEG-4 files via email attachment or by emailing a link to the video on YouTube. All entrants must also submit the official entry, release, and waiver forms.
A panel of judges will select finalists from among all entries, and the winner will be determined by online voting which will be open to the public.
All contest finalists will receive a "Swemorabilia" prize package of notecards, pencils, a flash drive, and other Swem items. The winner will be announced at the end of February and will receive a personal behind-the-scenes tour of Swem Library's Special Collections, a $100 Amazon gift card, and a "Swemorabilia" prize package. The winner of the Swem Library contest will join others in what will be a national competition, culminating in August 2013 when the national winner will be honored at the SAA/CoSA Joint Annual Meeting in New Orleans.
The contest is open to any member of the general public including William & Mary students, faculty, staff, and alumni. Current Swem Library staff is not eligible to participate. Entrants may not reserve any rights in or to the submission.
What have YOU found in the archives? Tell us by 12 p.m. on February 4th!