Consortium Library Award

The glory can be yours! This award is funded by the UAA/APU Consortium Library.

Award amount: Two $500 awards

• one $500 award for a paper/project completed in a 100/200 level class
• one $500 award for a paper/project completed in a 300/400 level class

The Consortium Library Award recognizes and honors undergraduate research papers or projects that demonstrate significant use of the Library's collections or services. The application window is currently closed, but we expect to reopen it during the 2025-2026 academic year. 

UAA and APU students can submit one application for this award using a course paper/project completed within the current or prior two semesters relative to the deadline. For a potential May 2026 deadline, this means projects completed in summer 2025, fall 2025, or spring 2026.

If you can answer "yes" to the following questions, you can apply for this award:

• Did you use the Consortium Library for a research paper or project in an undergraduate class at UAA or APU?
• Did your use of the Library's collections or services help increase the breadth and significance of what you learned? 
• Did your skills as a researcher grow as a result of completing this paper or project?
• Does your paper or project include a complete, consistently formatted bibliography, reference list, or works cited?
• Did you complete your paper or project in summer 2025, fall 2025, or spring 2026?

To apply, you will submit the following: 

• Reflective essay (50% of your score)
• Your completed research paper or project, including bibliography (50% of your score)

The committee will assign you a score out of 100 possible points. The point values are:

• Reflective essay (50 points)
• Your completed paper or project (30 points)
• A complete, consistently formatted bibliography, reference list, or works cited (20 points)

The reflective essay is worth 50% of your score. Your reflective essay should describe your research process in detail. Things to include:

• What you learned about research and how you can apply those lessons to future research
• Information literacy skills you acquired or strengthened while completing your research
• How your skills as a researcher changed as a result of your use of the Library's services or collections
• Depth or broadness in your use of Consortium Library services or collections
  • Examples include print or electronic books, journals, primary sources, media, the Research Help Desk, research appointments, Archives & Special Collections, and Interlibrary Loan
• Specific resources and search terms that did or did not work, and why
• What barriers you encountered and how you overcame them or redirected your research as a result
• Significant knowledge of methods of research and inquiry

This rubric provides more detail about the scoring criteria that will be used for each of the components listed above.

If you completed your paper/project as a group, please apply for the award as a group or get written permission from other group members to apply as an individual. 

You may submit one application per academic year for this award. Previous winners may not reapply. 

Winners will be asked to deposit their paper/project in the institutional repository, ScholarWorks@UA. 

Members of the Consortium Library Award Committee are happy to answer questions.

Page Brannon

Jodi Jacques

Taylor Keister

Ruth Terry, Chair

This guide is maintained by Ruth Terry.