The Stephen B. Luce Library is pleased to accept papers for the 2012 Library Research Award! The winning students will receive a Kindle Fire, the popular new tablet computer from Amazon.com which features an e-reader, game console, web browser, and video player.

Graduating seniors who have demonstrated academic achievement and conducted outstanding research utilizing the library's resources are invited to apply. Submissions must include:

• A copy of your research paper
• A statement of intent explaining why you deserve the award and how you utilized the library's resources for research

Applications will be reviewed by the Library Research Award Committee and judged on the following elements:

• Original Academic Research
• Citations
• Writing

Nominations and applications may be submitted to Mr. Shafeek Fazal either in hardcopy at the Library's Information Desk or via email no later than Friday, April 13, 2012.

The winner will be announced prior to the May 2012 graduation ceremony.

Carl Frederick Burnett, First African-American Graduate of Maritime College

In celebration of Black History month, the Stephen B. Luce Library honors notable African-Americans in maritime history with an exhibit of photographs, books and a digital display.

The virtual exhibit can be viewed from the library’s web portal, including:

• An online slideshow presentation on black maritime history, which features information on the first African-Americans to graduate from Maritime College in addition to maritime ties of major American figures such as Frederick Douglass and Marcus Garvey
• Recommended readings from our collection
  
• Great online resources for black maritime history research, including great links from the Library of Congress and the American Merchant Marine at War

The physical exhibit will be on display throughout February in the Library’s foyer area:

• A slideshow presentation on black maritime history
• A display case featuring archival photographs, yearbooks, and biographical information on notable African-American Maritime College alums, Carl Frederick Burnett and Walter Womack Branford. Additional photographs highlight an exchange program with Liberia in 1961, during which four Liberian students were sponsored by the African American Institute to attend Maritime College and study Marine Transportation for one year
• A selection of books from our collection highlighting prominent African-Americans in maritime and military history.

Walter Womack Bradford, Second African-American Graduate of Maritime College

The display gives the Library an opportunity to highlight aspects of both our circulating collection and our Archives. Though the books on display can be found through a simple Sextant Catalog search, several of the historic photographs required quite a bit of sleuthing. This is particularly true of the rarely-seen photos featuring several Liberian students who attended Maritime College in 1961 in partnership with the African-American Institute. After the photographs were discovered serendipitously in the Luce Library Archives, librarians uncovered background information on the mysterious pictures by cross-referencing the approximate date of their attendance with yearbooks and old Porthole editions.