Paper of the Year


The Paper of the Year is given annually for outstanding student papers. There are two divisions, research and creative. First, second and third place prizes are given for each division. The first place winner in each category is bound and placed in the library’s permanent collection. The application may be completed and received by the Library by March 1st of each year. Further details are available on the criteria page.

Criteria | Requirements | Judging Process | Application

Paper of the Year Criteria

General Criteria

  • There will be two divisions, creative and research.
  • All papers will be typed, double-spaced in 12-point font with one-inch margins.
  • The copy of the paper submitted to the Library will become the property of the Library, like a book donation. The student will retain ownership of the intellectual content.
  • There will be monetary prizes for each category.
  • The monetary prize amounts will be determined annually by the number of entrants and by the Library Advisory Committee.
  • There will be a limit of two submissions per semester per applicant.
  • The papers must have been written for a class at LCC and completed within the past academic year, March 14 to March 15. This will enable us to get the end of the year papers.
  • The deadline for submissions is March 1st.
  • The awards will be presented at the annual awards assembly.
  • The committee reserves the right not to give an award every year.
  • No one with a degree above the Associate’s level may submit a research paper. Our assumption is that anyone above Associates level will have done research papers.
  • The submitter must be enrolled at Labette Community College when the paper is submitted.
  • The entries may be judged according to the LCC ACADEMIC HONESTY REQUIREMENTS (Procedure 3.07).
  • The papers will be coded by the Library Director before being submitted to the committee members.
  • The names of the winners will not be revealed until the Awards Assembly.

Additional Requirements

Reference Papers
  • The paper must be for a Labette Community College class.
  • A variety of sources should be used with only 10% being from the Internet. Electronic periodical databases (i.e. ProQuest, InfoTrac, etc.) will be excluded from the 10% limitation.
  • Citations of sources are required for the research division paper.
  • Research papers must be a minimum of four pages in length including work cited.
  • The style guide used will be the one requested by the instructor of the course.
  • A rubric will be used by the Committee in determining the winner for this category.
Creative Papers
  • There will be no minimum length but the maximum length for creative paper submissions will be 7500 words.

Judging Process

  1. Applicant submits paper to contest.
  2. If necessary, the paper will be judged by an ad hoc subcommittee of 3-4 members, who will then decide on 5 finalists for each category, research and creative. These finalists will then be passed on to the entire Library Committee for consideration.
  3. Library Committee members vote for Paper of the Year by ranking the five finalists.
  4. The Library Director tallies the votes.
  5. The winners and finalists are announced at the annual Awards Assembly.
  • Previous Winners
  • 2024

    Erika Conley, Gisselle Hernandez, Zoe Gladson, Rebecca Shackelford, Amy Reynolds, and Natalee Lewis

  • 2023

    Tobin Clark, Esmirna Perez, Sean Therrien, Quay Blurton

  • 2022

    Katrina Egermeier, Kayla Myers, Bernadette Bradbury, Payton Williams

  • 2021

    Fiona Bartelli, Peyton Simpson

  • 2020

    Fiona Bartelli, Michael Bode, Olivia Brynds, Gunnar DeWeese, Grace Thompson

  • 2018

    Josh Ghering, Dylan MacKay, Scott Sullivan

  • 2017
    Robert W. Armstrong
    Garrett Newberry
  • 2016
    Rebekah Elliott, Mary Njeri Gathoni, Malina Kipp
  • 2015
    Jessica Letterman, Madison Lewis, McKenzie Lewis, Samantha Terrell
  • 2014
    Bailey Keeling, Brandee Cathleen Main, Fred (Saleta) Shadley, Melanie D. Wilson
  • 2013
    Michelle Compton, Elizabeth Davis, Richard Hurst
  • 2012
    Stonewall Acridge, Anna Njau, Joseph Woolsey
  • 2011
    Barney Pontious, Eric Comeaux, Scott Ingram
  • 2010
    Melissa Beasley, Kelly Campbell, Monique Johnson, Heather McGuire, Petra Nading
  • 2009
    Marti Frazier, Ryan Hizey, Amber Hoffman, Desiree M. E. King, Scarlett Tomasi
  • 2008
    Caitlin Eck, Amber Encarnacion, Jaime Johnsen, Donna Snider, Hannah Claire Walker
  • 2007
    Joie Cheeseman, Jaimie Johnsen, Jesse Lee Hodge, Joshua Kepley, Michael J. Lawson
  • 2006
    Amy Drumm, Nicole Hudson, Rickey A. Manues
  • 2005
    Nicole Ele, Katherine Fisher, Victoria Hon
  • 2004
    Dana Beason Susan Bole Ashley Good Jill Grant Thomas J. Grillot Juliana Kepner
  • 2003
    Debra Cox, Anita Patterson, Evan Saathoff