The IUB Libraries recently announced the winners of the 2007 Sam Burgess Undergraduate Research Award.

First place honors go to Michelle Greco, who will receive $1,000 for her paper, "Analysis of Holocaust References in Political Rhetoric." Second place winner Emily Bloom-Carlin will be awarded $500 for her paper, "Cultural Production and the Conducãtor."

Greco, a Political Science/History major, wrote her paper for J400 Seminar in History: Perpetrators of the Holocaust. Mark Roseman, professor for the course, says that Greco's paper demonstrates outstanding analysis of primary source material and is "extraordinarily lucid, original, and wide-ranging."

Greco also took advantage of library research consultation, which means she worked with a librarian to find the most relevant resources the IUB Libraries has to offer.

"The library resources at IU are phenomenal," Greco says, "but often students don't
know how to access all the information that is there. Working with librarians such as David Oldenkamp helped open so many doors to information I otherwise never would have found."

Bloom-Carlin is a Political Science/Economics major who did her research for HistD 330 Eastern Europe: 1945-Present. Professor Maria Bucur describes Bloom-Carlin's paper as "show[ing] both historical sensibilities and also true creativity as an intellectual."

In addition to her use of primary source materials—in this case Romanian visual art—Bloom-Carlin also used secondary sources in multiple languages, which she located primarily through IUCAT and online databases.

Both students noted that the abundance of resources available through the IUB Libraries made their research and writing very rewarding.

"After so much work, just having the paper completed was a reward in and of itself," Greco says," but it's really great that IU recognizes its student's hard work."

The Sam Burgess Undergraduate Research Award is supported by an endowment started by an IUB librarian to honor the memory of her late son, a voracious and eclectic reader who inspired others with his love of learning and zest for life. Her support of this endowment also recognizes the importance of the IUB Libraries to undergraduate education.