TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Students with a passion for books were recently named winners of The University of Alabama Libraries’ second annual Book Collecting Contest.

The contest, which called on UA students to submit their book collections in an effort to encourage literacy and book collecting, awarded winning students with monetary prizes for first and second place along with having their collections displayed in Gorgas Library through Dec. 1.

This year’s first-place winner is Wanfa Zhang from the College of Arts and Sciences whose collection “Camera and Photography” won him $500, a one-year membership in the Rotunda Library Society and the opportunity to compete in another round of competition in the Fine Books & Collections Collegiate Book Collecting Championship.

The second-place winner is College of Communication and Information Sciences student Rachel Dobson, whose collection “Guidebooks” resulted in an award of $250 and a one-year membership in the Rotunda Library Society.

John Sandy, chair of the committee charged with coordinating the activities for the contest, said he anticipated a lot of interest in the event. “Since this is the second year for the contest, we expected much enthusiasm for the contest,” Sandy said. “The University Libraries are very pleased by the level of participation in this year’s contest.”

More information about the University Libraries’ annual Book Collecting Contest can be found at www.lib.ua.edu/mystuff .

The University of Alabama, a student-centered research university, is in the midst of a planned, steady enrollment growth with a goal of reaching 28,000 students by 2010. This growth, which is positively impacting the campus and the state's economy, is in keeping with UA's vision to be the university of choice for the best and brightest students. UA, the state's flagship university, is an academic community united in its commitment to enhancing the quality of life for all Alabamians.