The Library adjudicates two annual student awards for excellence in library research:
Each award comes with a prize of $360 and winners are officially announced at the annual Academic Awards event in April. The deadline this year is April 9th, 2024.
These awards are available to undergraduate students who demonstrate outstanding research skills in using information and resources located in, or accessible from, the Mount Library, when completing a research assignment for course credit at Mount Saint Vincent University.
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These awards celebrate undergraduate students who demonstrate outstanding research skills using resources located in, or accessible from, the MSVU Library when completing a research assignment for course credit during the 12-month period preceding the deadline.
MSVU Introduction to Library Research Award
The Mount Saint Vincent University Introduction to Library Research Award is awarded annually to a novice researcher, i.e. an undergraduate student at MSVU who has completed no more than 15 units or less at MSVU (or any other post-secondary institution) and demonstrates outstanding research skills using information and resources located in, or accessible from, the MSVU Library when completing a research paper for credit. Annotated bibliographies are eligible for this award.
Sister Francis de Sales Endowed Award
The Sister Francis de Sales Endowed Award is awarded annually by the Mount Saint Vincent Alumnae Association in memory of Sister Francis de Sales, who served as Head Librarian for 25 years, was instrumental in rebuilding the Mount Library after the fire of 1951, and in the establishment of the MacDonald Rare Book Room.
The Sister Francis de Sales Endowed Award is awarded to a senior undergraduate student (has completed more than 10 units) who demonstrates outstanding research skills in using information sources available from the MSVU Library when completing a research paper for course credit.
The adjudication committee consists of librarians and library staff members. The committee may seek advice from the teaching faculty related to the paper under consideration. The research assignments will be judged according to the following criteria:
Note that the committee is not remarking an assignment, but the quality of library research must be deemed sufficiently high by the committee for applications to be considered. The committee reserves the right not to offer the award in any given year. The decision of the panel is final.
The research log documents your research process and the resources you used while conducting your research. Please note: not all subcategories need to be completed however they must include some library research examples. The cover page of the research log must include: your name, student id number, title of the paper, course, Library Award Category (Category A or B).
When listing the search strategies you used to find information for your assignment, list the what tools or techniques you used while doing your research and indicate things such as choosing a database, deciding on search terms, search terms, and/or filters you used.
Provide a list of materials used during your library research process according to the type of material. Indicate whether the resource was online or print.
Describe any consultations, research appointments, or help you received from librarians, instructors, and/or other specialists regarding your research.
Reflect on your research process and its impact on your work.
Ready to apply? Click here to apply!