Announcement | Recipients of Undergraduate Prize for Excellence in Library Research 2019

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Each year, in partnership with the Office of the Dean of the College, the Brown University Library recognizes one or two undergraduate students for outstanding research projects that make creative and extensive use of the Library’s collections, including, but not limited to, print resources, databases, primary resources, and materials in all media. The project may take the form of a traditional paper, a database, a website, or other digital project. The prize winners receive $750 each, funded through an endowment established by Douglas Squires ’73.

2019 Prize Recipients

Maya Omori ’19 created “Hidden Portraits at Brown,” a Brown-focused walking tour for the statewide Rhode Tour mobile app. The walking tour examines overlooked or underrepresented people associated with Brown and offers closer inspection of some of Brown’s famous landmarks and traditions. Maya incorporated interviews with Brown faculty, curators, and staff with extensive research using our online databases and primary sources.

Maya Omari receives award certificate
Maya Omori ’19 receives award certificate from Joseph Meisel, Joukowsky Family University Librarian

Using primary sources from the John Hay Library as well as numerous secondary sources from Brown’s physical and online collections, Gabriela Gil ’20 wrote a research paper, “First Aid in South African Gold Mines,” which explores the rationale for European mining corporations to create first aid programs specific to Black laborers. The paper provides an in-depth discussion of a first aid manual (“Ikusiza Aba Limele”) in order to better understand how mining officials construed the roles and responsibilities in the provision of first aid in these settings, and how they evaluated the significance of these attitudes and policies for Black labor.

Gabriela Gil Skype image
Gabriela Gil ’20 connects to the ceremony remotely to present her project and receive the award

Congratulations to Maya and Gabriela!

Thank you to this year’s judges:

  • Heather Cole, Curator, Literary & Popular Culture Collections
  • Carina Cournoyer, Scholarly Resources Librarian for the Social Sciences
  • Claudia Elliot, Associate Director of the International Relations Program and Senior Lecturer in International Studies
  • Jessica Metzler, Associate Director of Humanities and Social Sciences at the Sheridan Center

More information about the Undergraduate Prize for Excellence in Library Research and past winners.