Three Recognized with 2019 Undergraduate Book Collecting Prize

From left, Tina Qin, Richard Yarrow, ’19, Martin Schreiner, Luke Kelley, ’19, David Leyenson, and Nick Colón, ’19.
Enrique Diaz

When Luke Kelly was eleven years old, his paternal grandfather passed away. In going through his grandfather's personal belongings, he came across a curious scrapbook he'd never seen before. “The scrapbook was an effort by my great-grandfather, Patrick “Pappy” H. McMahon, to preserve his memories of his commanding officer from his service in the U.S. Navy during the Second World War,” said Kelly.

Luke Kelly, wearing a blazer and tie, smiles at the camera
Luke Kelly, '19
Enrique Diaz

This scrapbook became the inspiration behind the collection he describes in “PT-109: Courage Profiled and Collected,” which earned first place in this year’s Visiting Committee Prize for Undergraduate Book Collecting competition.

Known as “Skipper” to Kelly’s Pappy, his commanding officer is better known today as the late President John F. Kennedy. “Although I often heard tales of President Kennedy’s heroism in saving my great-grandfather’s life serving aboard the PT-109, the story was always vague, without any historical context of World War II or the impact of the PT-109 incident on President Kennedy’s life.”

Kelly’s collection began with a book about the discovery of the PT-109 by Robert Ballard, the ocean explorer who discovered the wreckage of the RMS Titanic. Since then, he's built a collection ranging from histories and tales of PT boats in the Pacific and European theaters of conflict, to biographies of President Kennedy and his storied family, to articles and interviews with his great-grandfather. “Together these books and ephemera have let me grow closer to two men who died before I was born, but whose lives of courage have allowed me to be alive.”

Richard Yarrow, wearing a blazer, tie, and glasses, smiles at the camera
Richard Yarrow, '19
Enrique Diaz

Second place went to Richard Yarrow for his entry “History, Humor, and Hope: Considering Jewish Identity in the West after 1945.” Yarrow’s entry highlights books that define or reconcile issues of modern Jewish identity following World War II and the horrors of the Jewish Holocaust. They range from the more philosophical mysticism of Gershom Scholem’s The Messianic Idea in Judaism: And Other Essays on Jewish Spirituality to Sol Weinstein’s humorous Jewish spoof of the James Bond spy genre, Matzohball: A New Adventure of Hebrew Secret Agent Oy-Oy-7.

“These texts have gripped me not only with their relevance to my and my family’s lives, but also with their distinct mission of preserving and re-ennobling an ancient yet threatened heritage," said Yarrow. “My collection represents something about the way many Jews in the modern West like to see themselves—as people who think a lot, care about what they think, and are fond of humor.”

Yarrow’s collection came together from years of browsing the aisles of used book stores in and around cities like Cambridge, New York, and Washington, D.C. Some of the books have an exceptional connection for him, like his copy of Not in God’s Name, sent to him by its writer, former UK Chief Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, after he conducted an interview of him for the Harvard International Review.

“Consciously or subconsciously, and whether I agree or disagree with each book’s specific implications, they have helped me shape my own considerations of what it currently means for me to be ‘Jewish American.’”

Nick Colón wears a collared shirt and smiles at the camera
Nick Colón, '19
Enrique Diaz

Nick Colón took the honor of third place for his entry, “Prayer-Bees and Ethnographies: Books as a Ritual Symbol of the Liminal.” Colón’s book collecting efforts began the Fall term of his freshman year, when he met a missionary assigned to the Harvard Catholic Center. “He recommended book after book by authors who have shaped Catholicism and devotion to God,” said Colón.

After discovering his love for religious reading, he declared a concentration in religion and began exploring a variety of religious experiences, both within and outside of Christianity. He divides his collection into five areas in his essay: Christian and Catholic theology, important Catholic figures, C.S. Lewis, literature, and what he describes as “the beautiful practice of ethnography” and the exploration of the impacts of other religions in other societies.

“For me, the books in this collection are a symbol of liminality, or the transition from one state of being to another. In a sense, my bookshelf is the liminal space that I must enter to fully understand the ways that religion works in the lives of others.”

At a congratulatory event, each winner was presented with a cash prize—$3,000 for first prize, $1,500 for second, and $750 for third, and a book about libraries, collecting, and the power of words.

“The Library is pleased to be a part of this Prize, which supports the art of collecting among our students at Harvard,” said Martin Schreiner, one of the four judges who reviewed the submissions. “The very personal connection these three collectors have to their books is what made their stories so compelling and their submissions rise to the top.”

Established in 1977, the Visiting Committee Prize for Undergraduate Book Collecting is awarded every year to recognize and encourage book collecting by undergraduates at Harvard and sponsored by the Members of the Board of Overseers’ Committee to Visit the Harvard Library. Students competing for the book collecting prize submit an annotated bibliography and an essay on their collecting efforts, the influence of mentors, the experience of searching for, organizing, and caring for items, and the future direction of their collection.

Eighteen students declared their intention to enter the competition, and eight submitted their work for consideration. The judges this year were:

  • David Leyenson, assistant librarian for Western Europe, Widener Library Collection Development
  • Tina Qin, chemistry librarian, Cabot Science Library
  • Lynn Sayers, administration and events coordinator, Maps and Media Services
  • Martin Schreiner, director of Maps and Media Services

An exhibition featuring items from the winners’ collections is on display on the second and third floors of Lamont Library.