The Washington University Libraries have begun accepting applications for their 24th annual Neureuther Student Book Collection Essay Competition, with a $1,000 first prize and a $500 second prize. Any full-time current Washington University student is eligible to enter the competition. The deadline is Wednesday, March 31, 2010.

Washington University Libraries received one of the largest grants in the institution’s history, a $376,426 National Leadership Grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services. The money will fund the St. Louis Freedom Suits Legal Encoding Project, which aims to digitize pre-Civil War lawsuits that slaves brought against slaveholders in the St. Louis Circuit Court.