SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — The South Orange Historical and Preservation Society is offering a $1,000 scholarship in a competition open to all high school juniors and seniors living in South Orange and Maplewood who will be entering an accredited institution of higher education upon graduation from high school.
To win the prize, students must submit an essay on “The Library – What Has It Meant to Society?” In this essay contest, students will choose any period of time during the past 150 years and discuss the role public libraries played, either in a specific area or in general, and how South Orange Public Library fulfilled this role.
South Orange Public Library, founded in 1866, has been serving the people of the Village for 150 years. The SOHPS scholarship essay will serve to commemorate the library’s 150th anniversary. The essay may include personal anecdotes and/or interviews.
Essays are to be submitted directly to the screening committee at info@sohps.org. Essays must be between 1,000 and 1,200 words, written in MS-Word or a compatible format, with a 12-point type font, 1.5-line spacing and one-inch margins. The essay must be accompanied by an original source bibliography. The student may use personal interviews where appropriate, but specifics are to be provided in the bibliography. A cover page must include the student’s name, address, telephone number, email address, current high school and the college or university the student will be attending, if known.
The $1,000 award is a one-time payment not to be considered a renewal and will be paid directly to the winner’s chosen institution of higher education. The winning essay will be presented at the library’s anniversary celebration in May and at the SOHPS’s symposium in October.
Entries must be received by the screening committee no later than May 1. The scholarship winner will be notified no later than June 1.
The winning essay will become the property of the South Orange Historical and Preservation Society and may, with proper attribution to the writer, be reproduced, distributed and publicly displayed for the purposes of supporting the goals of SOHPS and the South Orange Public Library.
For more information, visit www.SOHPS.org.