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Snyder Book Collecting Contest - Resources

Getting Started on your Essay:

Studies of collecting behaviors find that individuals collect for different reasons, including the desire to define one's identity, to interact with a collecting community, and to preserve culture. Some collectors also collect for the purpose of financial investment; some find that the activity has simply become an addiction (i.e. "the thrill of the hunt").  The following questions may be helpful for defining in your essay the purpose and method you use in building your collection.

  • Do you collect for any of the reasons above? For others?
  • What do you think your collection says about you?
  • When you acquire a book for your collection, you select it from among books that you choose NOT to collect. What do you value about the books you select that set them apart from books you do not select?
  • What aspects of the books do you consider when collecting? (for example, but not limited to: the physical material, subject matter, aesthetics, craftsmanship)
  • Do you value some pieces of your collection more than others? Why?
  • Where do you keep your collection?
  • Do you display your collection? Why or why not?

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