Congratulations to Oscar Altman and Mia Steiner, winners of the 2025 Book Collecting Contest!
Collins Choice Award & First Place Collection
Oscar Altman “Ancient Texts and Modern Commentaries”
Oscar Altman
The Collins Choice Award recognizes a student whose collection illustrates the hallmarks of a liberal arts education. Oscar Altman’s collection of ancient Greek and Roman primary source texts and scholarship that studies the ancient world, along with his essay that explains both the meaning of his collection to him and the path he took to develop it, demonstrate the values of the liberal arts. In his essay, he discusses the relationship he developed with a professor whose academic work he so admired that it has influenced the direction of his studies at the University. His discussion of the items in his collection illustrate the dual and sometimes dueling intensities of work and pleasure in academic reading, as he expanded on when he wrote about the “challenge” of “wrestling” with “the incredibly dense” Pantheon by Rupke and his discovery that the Oresteia contains many themes found in current storytelling and is “a story about the inner turmoil that accompanies all attachment.” Oscar also does a superb job of connecting the texts in his collection, illustrating an understanding of a collection of works as “greater than the sum of its parts,” arguing for the strength that comes from placing different types of sources together to inform one another, and illustrating the value of studying a subject over thousands of years.
Best Essay
Mia Steiner “Writing & Reading Mental Health: My Matt Haig Collection”
Mia Steiner
The Best Essay award recognizes a student who shows passion and enthusiasm for their collection while describing how the items of the collection fit together. Mia Steiner’s essay speaks to the profound impact Matt Haig’s books have had on her life, how they have enriched her relationships, and enhanced her understanding of herself and others. She writes that his books “gave me hope in my darkest hours,” comparing his books to “a warm hug.” Falling in love with a great author is one of the best entry points to a lifelong love of reading. Mia illustrates with her collection that books can be a guiding light throughout our lives.
This contest is sponsored by Collins Memorial Library and the Book Club of Washington. The Book Club of Washington is a Northwest-based group of bibliophiles, book collectors, book dealers, regional history aficionados and book arts lovers. They award the First Place Collection, and an opportunity for this award winner to enter the national competition.
Each year, a Library panel previews the senior art show, thoughtfully debates the entries, and selects a winning artwork. The Collins Library Senior Art Award celebrates the artist with a $250 prize and invites them to display their work prominently in the library for one year. Works are chosen based on their artistic themes, technical acumen, and suitability for display in the library.
Art Award Winner
Collins Library is pleased to bestow the 2025 Senior Art Award to Rhae Schulz-O’Neil for her series, “Just as I remember you.”
Rhae Schulz-O’Neil
The panel was impressed by Rhae’s impactful and eclectic series that captures the elusive nature of memory. The utilization of “hoarded” materials adds texture and depth, drawing the viewer closer. The incidental moments reflected in the series, coupled with those collected in the accompanying zine, take on greater importance in hindsight. The panel also felt a synergy between the “beautiful wonder of noticing…the split seconds of quiet, of serenity, of sweetness” captured by the artist, and the focus and attention of students studying in Collins’ learning commons, where we envision the artwork will be displayed.
From the Artist Statement: For my thesis series, “Just as I remember you,” I take a close look at the grasp of memory. The idea that memories and reflections are shaped and distorted by the things you actively refuse to forget. Those moments of noticing a minor detail that, while to many, is not a part of the plot, but to you is a fixation that permeates the way you remember that moment. And sometimes, those things you refuse to forget are tangible and physical, like wood sitting in the corner of my house because the beauty of the grain was too perfect to leave stranded against the dumpster and it sits and sits in my memory until I give it a place to shine.
Collins Library is looking forward to displaying Rhae’s work in Collins Library for the coming year. Congratulations, Rhae!
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Honorable Mention
In recognition of her vibrant, large-scale organic paintings and sculpture, the Collins Library awards Beyulah Anderson, an Honorable Mention for 2025.
Beyulah Anderson
The energy and movement in Beyulah’s works are palpable; the colors and patterns in the works are eye-catching, evoking a light and relaxed feeling. The organic feel of the paintings calls to mind everything from blood vessels to flowers, suggesting unexpected connections in the natural world.
From the Artist Statement: This collection is a reflection of patterns and shapes occurring in the natural world that are mirrored by human movements and emotions. I draw inspiration from shells, flora, wind, water, and the human body. My paintings and sculptural installations are colorful representations of these organic forms and the unseen flowing movements occurring in and around them.
While there is no monetary prize attached to the honorable mention, Collins Library hopes to display the work “In the Heights” on the 4th floor for the coming year. Congratulations, Bey!
Library Jurors: Liz Cheney, Humanities & Languages Librarian Olivia Inglin, Archivist & Special Collections Librarian Megan Smithling, Arts & Humanities Librarian Jamie Spaine, Administrative and Special Projects Coordinator
The Collins Memorial Library invites students, faculty, staff, and campus groups to display their collections in the exhibit, Puget Sound Hobby Hall. Collections can include stamps, comics, dolls, action figures, books, coins, crafts, memorabilia, rocks, and anything else you may collect!
Collections will be on display in the Collins Memorial Library from January 21 – May 12 2025.
Exhibit Timeline:
November 4th: Submission form opens November 29th: Submission form closes December 2nd – 6th: Puget Sound Hobby Hall Committee will review submissions and send out decisions to submitters. January 12th – 21st: Exhibit partners bring their collections to the library for installation May 12/13: Exhibit partners remove collections
Greetings! As the 2024/2025 academic year picks up steam, I want to personally welcome every member of the University of Puget Sound community to the Collins Memorial Library. Our dedicated professional Collins librarians and staff are here to help you find, access, and use our expansive collections, including over 500,000 print volumes, 1800 journal and magazine subscriptions, rare books and ephemera, archival materials that showcase the history of the University, and 130 subject-specific online search engines and databases of literature, scientific reports, newspapers, images, media, primary sources, and so much more. We are also your gateway to an additional 26 million items through the Orbis Cascade Alliance consortium of 38 academic libraries across Washington, Oregon, and Idaho through Summit. While our extensive resources will support you in your academic endeavors, we also hope you use them to support your hobbies, special interests, creative and artistic pursuits, and relaxation time.
I also want to invite you to use our spaces! Collins Library offers individual and group study spaces throughout our five floors. Our Makerspace and Book Arts Studios in the basement open endless possibilities for creativity and innovation. Archives and Special Collections on the second floor provide access to rare books, ephemera, and archival materials that showcase the history of the University. Our current Logger Lore exhibit on the first floor is a small sampling of the campus history held in our Archives. Our first floor Reading Rooms are beautiful spaces full of art and light and our Rocking Chair nook provides an excellent place to rest or read a book.
Most importantly, I invite you to connect with the most valuable resource we offer in Collins – the expertise of our staff. Liaison Librarians are available for research consultations, citation help, provide course instruction in collaboration with faculty, and support academic integrity. Public Services staff can help you check out books, borrow from other libraries, access course reserves, and book study space. We hope you will join us for one of the many programs we have planned for you for this academic year as we bring music, arts, games, reading, exhibits, contests, and more to you in Your Collins Library!
The Collins Memorial Library hosts a number of digital collections that include scholarship and creative works of the faculty, staff and students, collections capturing the history of the University, digitized archival collections, and other collections that are used across campus to support teaching and learning. Historically, these collections have been hosted on three platforms: JSTOR, Sound Ideas, and Collins Memorial Library Digital Collections.
Effective now, all of these collections have been migrated to one platform, JSTOR Forum, to create the University of Puget Sound Digital Collections. Patrons can now access all Puget Sound specific digital collections on JSTOR Forum. This transition also provides the opportunity to streamline processes related to digital collection creation and stewardship.
As a result of this platform change, the processes for content submission to digital collectionshave changed. Previously, users utilized a variety of processes that often included the use of a submission form through the Sound Ideas platform.
Fortunately, the new workflow for content submission is similar to the previous process, with the only noticeable difference being new versions of content submission forms. The new content submission forms are Google Forms and are specific to the five collection areas of the University of Puget Sound Digital Collections. These are: faculty scholarship, student research and creative works, student publications, conferences and events, and university publications.
To learn more about each collection area and to find the correct submission form, users can visit the Collins Library website. This information has also been included as a list at the end of this post.
To support this transition, the library is inviting members of campus to reach out to the Collins Library Digital Projects Team. To follow up with any questions, or to schedule a consultation, please email archives@pugetsound.edu.
The University of Puget Sound Digital Collections – Collection Areas & Submission Forms
This collection acts as an incomplete index of faculty members’ publications. This collection includes pre-prints and post prints. Below is a list of examples of the types of items within the category of Faculty Scholarship.
Puget Sound students create scholarly works in an array of disciplines. This collection is a sample of graduate and undergraduate theses, and other exceptional scholarly and creative work created by our students. Below is a list of examples of the type of existing collections within the category of student research and creative works.
These collections of University of Puget Sound student publications include magazines, journals, and newspapers. Below is a list of examples of the type of existing collections within the category of Student Publications.
A note on student journals
New volumes and issues of journals can be organized two ways. Journals can be formatted as a single pdf with all journal submissions contained in the one file, or as separate pdfs that are grouped into a volume and issue within JSTOR Forum. This can be indicated in the submission form. If you need support establishing or managing the submission process for student journals, please reach out to the Collins Library Digital Projects Team at archives@pugetsound.edu.
The University of Puget Sound is host to many conferences and special events throughout the year. These collections include program information, proceedings and videos from the events. Below is a list of examples of the type of existing collections within the category of Conferences and Events.
Step into Fall semester with Logger Lore: Fall Traditions at Puget Sound, a new exhibit celebrating the back-to-school traditions that build community and camaraderie on campus. Explore the history of Homecoming, discover unique student clubs, celebrate academic excellence, and learn about campus publications from The Trail (our amazing student newspaper!) to alternative newsletters and zines. Featuring rare photographs, artifacts, and documents from the university’s Archives, Logger Loreexamines how our campus traditions have evolved and aims to inspire Loggers to create the future traditions of Puget Sound.
The Puget Sound Book Artists exhibit team has chosen five award winners for its 13th annual 2024 members’ exhibit. The awards were in the following five categories: Thematic Excellence; Most Innovative Book Structure; First-Time Entry; Most Original Writing; and Overall Excellence.
Exhibit team chair, Ann Storey, explained that the following criteria were used to judge entries for these awards:
Is the book interesting?
Is it well-made?
Is it unique, original or surprising?
Does the structure integrate well with the imagery and/or writing?
Does the book express the Time Travel theme?
Thematic Excellence Award
Jan Ward’s book installation, Rosita’s Guide to Time Travel, was chosen for the Thematic Excellence award. It explored the Time Travel theme with originality and imagination. Rosita seemed to be an avatar of the artist who could guide her through a perilous present toward a more authentic future.
Image Credit: Jan Ward, Rosita’s Guide to Time Travel
Most Innovative Book Structure Award
Denise Stephenson’s entry, Steps Through Time, won in the Most Original Structure category. While traveling between California and New Zealand Stephenson badly injured her knee. She chose a book structure to record her harrowing personal experience that also succinctly expressed the compression and expansion of time when crossing the international dateline.
Image Credit: Denise Stephenson, Steps Through Time
First-Time Entry Award
Marlis Hanson’s fabric book titled, Without Words/91, won the First-Time Entry Award. This book, made out of the collected fragments of her life, records her personal and artistic journey as a 91 year old artist. As she wrote in her artist’s statement, she was “…bringing cohesion and meaning…” to her life by making this piece.
Image Credit: Marlis Hanson, Without Words/91
Most Original Writing Award
Abbie Birmingham won the Most Original Writing award for her beautiful poem “Raven” in her book, The Scablands – Stories from the High Desert. Her poem and book explore and celebrate in a very sensitive way the dramatic landscapes of eastern Washington, carved by ice age floods. She writes, “The sky calls as I fall into it,/My heart stripped clean./Mine is the raven’s eye,/One with the land,/Open, waiting for water.”
Image Credit: Abbie Birmingham, The Scablands – Stories from the High Desert
Overall Excellence Award
Susan Aurand won the Award of Overall Excellence for her assemblage titled, Time Travel. Her entry had a very original interpretation of the theme. Instead of being a personal exploration of time travel, Aurand chose to explore a more scientific understanding “…the continuous circulation of matter and energy moving through all living things” as she wrote in her artist’s statement. These abstract concepts were expressed visually with natural specimens of bones, shells, seeds, wings and leaves.
Image Credit: Susan Aurand, Time Travel
The exhibit team applauded all of the participating artists for their originality and artistic verve. It was challenging to choose the award winners from so many creative and interesting entries.
For more information contact Ann Storey, Exhibit Team Chair aelizabeth.storey@gmail.com
Collins Library welcomes back the annual PSBA exhibition! Playful and profound, the Puget Sound Book Artists 13th annual member exhibit on the theme of Time Travel will be exhibited at the Collins Memorial Library, University of Puget Sound, from June 4 until August 1, 2024. It will also be shown at The Evergreen State College Library, in Olympia, from September 29 until December 20, 2024.
On display will be a total of fifty-five artist books from forty-two different artists representing all parts of the Puget Sound and the western United States. Ann Storey, exhibit team chair, stated: “It is always a wonderful surprise to see how creative people interpret and play with an exhibit theme. The topic of Time Travel seemed to be especially resonant and sparked imaginative leaps across both time and space. After our recent experience of lock-down, when we couldn’t travel physically but managed to travel metaphorically, and when we confronted time in the form of facing our mortality, we have such interesting ideas to draw from in creating the artist books in this show.”
Some of these books time travel to the past to celebrate the strength and grace of ancestors, while others look backwards for a different reason–to question received wisdom. Judy Cook takes a more humorous approach by illustrating vignettes from her high school Home Economics class–the time when a runaway electric mixer sprayed chocolate frosting around the classroom and girls were taught how to gracefully exit cars.
Judy Cook, Frosting Frenzy, A Home Economics Memory
Susan Aurand, Time Travel
Susan Aurand takes an original, science-based approach, stating “When I thought about this theme, it came to me that bits of us (the atoms in our bodies, the air molecules we breathe) are part of a continuous circulation of matter and energy moving among all living things…This idea fascinates me and makes me wonder about experiences that bits of me have had as other beings.” Her unique assemblage helps to make visible these esoteric ideas–a bridge between the visible and invisible.
Abbie Birmingham, The Scablands–Stories From the High Desert
Abbie Birmingham touches on both science and geology. She created an evocative piece that originated with a poem, Raven, and then meditated on the dramatic landscape of the channeled scablands of eastern Washington. Her poem begins, “The faces in the cliff are silent,|Riddle of ice, fire and flood.|Encrypted. Then decoded|By the ones who slowly walk the land…” Birmingham alludes to the tremendous ice age floods that sculpted this landscape and the dawning understanding of this phenomenon within the scientific community.
Jan Dove, Don’t Go
Other artists draw inspiration from nature. This could be celebratory or to issue a warning about our destruction of wildlife and habitat. For example, Jan Dove explains her entry Don’t Go, by saying “I’m living in a time when even the trees must travel to find a place to survive.”
There will be an opening reception on Thursday, June 6 from 4:30-6:30 pm at the Collins Library. Award winners will be announced in five categories including most innovative book structure, best original writing, award of overall excellence, most exciting first time entry and thematic merit. The public is welcome. During two open case events artists will personally share and discuss their works. They are scheduled for June 15, 2-4 pm, and July 16, 1-3 pm. A free online Time Travel art workshop will be offered to PSBA members by Ann Storey and Belinda Hill on July 13, 10-11:30 am. Participants will create a story map about travel to an imaginary time and place using body mapping and a Turkish map fold structure.
The Collins Memorial Library is pleased to support this event as shared in remarks by Acting Library Director Peggy Burge:
Collins Library is very pleased to host the PSBA annual exhibit once again. This has been a summer tradition at Collins for the past 13 years, and we look forward every year to seeing and celebrating the creativity of our regional book artists. We welcome both new and returning visitors to the exhibit.
This enthusiasm is reinforced by remarks shared by Sally Alger, President of the Puget Sound Book Artists:
Each year in our members’ exhibit the Puget Sound Book Artists show us all how to explore ideas about books and art. The depth of thinking… and the fun of making books is very infectious.
This year’s exhibit team consists of Belinda Hill, PSBA board member, artist and educator; Carrie Larson, Judy Cook, and Diane Miller, artists and writers; and is chaired by Ann Storey, PhD, art historian and artist, faculty emerita of The Evergreen State College.
June 6: Opening Reception, Collins Memorial Library. 4:30-6:30 p.m. See University website for parking information.
June 15: Open Cases, Collins Memorial Library. 2-4 p.m. Informal opportunity to meet and listen to artists.
July 16: Open Cases, Collins Memorial Library. 1-3 p.m. Informal opportunity to meet and listen to artists.
July 13: Story Map and Time Travel – Zoom based online workshop for PSBA members. 10-11:30 a.m. Participants will create a story map about travel to an imaginary time and place using body mapping and a Turkish map fold structure. Information will be distributed to members prior to the event.
Arts & Humanities Librarian Wendy Spaček (left) and Senior Art Award winner Cas Almond. Cracked Egg print by Cas Almond.
For over a decade, the Collins Memorial Library has sponsored an award for an outstanding graduating Art major. Each year a Library panel convenes to preview the senior show and after much discussion selects the winning artwork. The artist is awarded $250 and the honor of displaying their artwork prominently in the library for one year.
Collins Library is pleased to bestow the 2023 Senior Art Award to Cas Almond!
Excerpts from his Artist Statement:
The purpose of my thesis is to give a perspective on transitioning and trans bodies. When I first began transitioning, I discovered much of the information available online is either medical, lacks any sort of visual aid, or actively discourages people from transitioning. I wanted to create a series of prints describing how my body has changed and the emotions attached to it. I also wanted to dispel the idea that trans bodies are in some way unnatural. To achieve this I combined images of my body with a variety of elements from nature including plants, octopi, and the sky.
For his senior thesis Cas Almond created an ambitious series of prints documenting the physical and emotional transformations he experienced while transitioning from female to male. Combining renderings of the body with blooming plants, octopi, stars, and clouds, Cas dispels “the idea that trans bodies are in some way unnatural”. Cas’s thesis deftly navigates numerous printmaking techniques (cyanotypes, lithographs, relief, etchings, collagraphs, screenprints, and several techniques of monotype) while conceptually coalescing nuanced personal feelings and basic information in a clear, cohesive vision. Cas creates a counterpoint and an intervention in the anti-trans rhetoric he describes finding online (“medical, lacks any sort of visual aid, or actively discourages people from transitioning”) and speaks from and to the trans community–providing a joyful, celebratory, emotional, and informational road map for those embarking on the same transition.
We are thrilled to honor Cas with this year’s Senior Art Award and look forward to exhibiting a portion of his work in Collins Library in the upcoming year. Congratulations, Cas!
Library Jurors: Wendy Spaček, Arts & Humanities Librarian Jamie Spaine, Administrative and Special Projects Coordinator Nick Triggs, User Experience and Discovery Librarian
PLEASE NOTE: This event is not held in the library, but will be in the Tahoma Room, located in the Thomas Hall building.
This event will include a talk by Professor Tiffany Aldrich MacBain and a showcase of artwork from the exhibit.
Works by Becky Frehse, Beverly Naidus, Debbi Commodore, Deborah Greenwood, Dorothy McCuistion, Gabby Cooksey, Jessica Spring, Lucia Harrison, MalPina Chan, Paige Pettibon, Victoria Björklund, Yoshi Nakagawa, and Yuka Petz will be on display.
Light refreshments will be served.
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About the exhibit itself: The Collins Memorial Library exhibit, The World Through Abby’s Eyes, is about the nuanced life of women in the American West in the early twentieth century. The focal point of the exhibit is Tacoma resident Abby Williams Hill (1861-1943). Hill was a landscape artist best known for her oil paintings created en plein air depicting the scenery of the American West.
The exhibit focuses on four significant roles Hill held: artist, advocate, mother, and woman. The exhibit features original works by local artists, all of which explore the life and experiences of Hill. Building on these themes, the rich and vibrant history of Tacoma is on display through documents, photographs and artifacts from the Archives & Special Collections and Tacoma Public Library. The display includes journals, letters, photographs, artifacts, ephemera, original paintings by Abby Williams Hill, and other materials.
