Emma Smith Hough Library Research Scholarship Awards

About the Scholarships

The Library has established the following policies and procedures for the Emma Smith Hough Library Research Scholarship Awards, funded by the estate of Ms. Anita Crites Crawford.

Three scholarships will be given each year, two to undergraduate students and one to a graduate student, as follows:

• $1,500 to a sophomore or junior at SIUC in the Humanities, Fine Arts, or Social Sciences disciplines.
• $1,500 to a sophomore or junior at SIUC in the Sciences, Engineering, or Applied Technologies disciplines.
• $2,000 to a graduate student at SIUC in any discipline.

The awards will be given for papers or other creative work that is based on creative and exceptional use of library resources, as described below.

Application Process

• Complete applications are due February 27, 2026. This must include all of the following:
  • Completed online application form
  • Your paper or project submitted as an attachment to  houghscholarship@lib.siu.edu.
  • A letter of support from a faculty member sent to houghscholarship@lib.siu.edu. The letter may be submitted directly by the faculty member.
• Award recipients will be announced by March 27, 2026.
• For more information or if you have questions, email Jennifer Horton at jhorton@siu.edu.

Eligibility

• Individuals must be currently enrolled students in good standing at SIU Carbondale who will also be enrolled in either the following Summer or Fall semester and intend to complete their degree at SIU Carbondale. Undergraduate students must be at least a sophomore at the time of application. The scholarships will be granted for credit against tuition and fees for the following semester after the award.
• For the undergraduate awards, the project or paper submitted must have been completed for an upper-division (300 or 400) level credit course or as part of an undergraduate research experience completed at SIU Carbondale.
• For the graduate award, projects or papers may be for any graduate class other than the final thesis or dissertation. However, the topic of the paper or assignment might later result in the theme of the final thesis or dissertation as developed and pursued by the student.
• The applicant must be the only author on the paper or project. Group work is not accepted.
• The work may not have been previously published in a peer-reviewed resource like an academic journal.

Evaluation Criteria

The Evaluation/Award Committee will make awards that demonstrate the following characteristics:

• A broad array of information resources, which may include print, web, online journal articles, and primary sources.
• Information resources appropriate to the scope and theme of the project.
• Creative and/or scholarly application of the information discovered.
• Information sources that effectively support an original argument or make a significant contribution to scholarly knowledge about a subject.
• Responsible use of information by providing appropriate and accurate citations and credits.
• Evidence of significant personal learning and the development of a habit of research and inquiry that shows the likelihood of persisting in the future.
• Special consideration will be given to projects that show the use of original, primary source material in the Library's Special Collections or Archives.

It is understood that winning papers may not exhibit all criteria, but the Evaluation Committee will weigh these criteria and balance them in the judgment of a final award that best exhibits these characteristics.

To receive the award, winners must agree to submit an electronic copy of their work to the Library's Institutional Repository for discovery by the scholarly community worldwide.

About Emma Smith Hough

Emma Smith Hough began teaching at Murphysboro Township High School in 1928 as an English teacher. She later taught business classes and became the school librarian. She received a B.A. and B.S. from the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign and an M.S. from SIU. She retired from the Murphysboro school district in 1963 and then took over as head librarian at the Sallie Logan Public Library in Murphysboro.