The Fresno State Library invites all current Fresno State students to design a bookplate for the new Eloise Quiñones-Keber Collection. The winning design will appear with the collection and be featured on the library’s website. The submission deadline is March 13th.

a series of books from the quinones keber collection sit on a shelf

Acquired in 2024, the Eloise Quiñones-Keber Collection offers a snapshot of the lifelong studies and travels of the late Dr. Quiñones-Keber, a preeminent scholar, art historian, and educator. Much like her own interdisciplinary scholarship, this richly diverse collection spans the fields of art history, ethnohistory, Mesoamerican studies, and colonial Latin American history and visual culture. The vast collection contains over 7000 volumes of multi-language books, journals, exhibition catalogs, facsimiles, manuscripts, papers, prints, and ephemera. Housed in Fresno State Library’s general collection and Special Collections and Research Center, the Quiñones-Keber Collection is an invaluable resource to students and scholars from multiple disciplines and serves as a living example of the voracious curiosity of a lifelong learner.

What is a bookplate?

A bookplate is a label attached to the inside cover of a book to identify the owner of the book and, in a library, by whom a book was donated. But they can also be considered an art form in and of themselves, as many of them are indeed like small works of art. The Fresno State Library preserves this tradition of bookplates in the modern era with digital bookplates to honor our generous benefactors who fund library acquisitions, as well as donors of major book collections: https://library.fresnostate.edu/find/bookplate 

detail of a book in the quinones keber collection

Design Theme

We are looking for a design that captures the spirit of art history research and Mesoamerican and Latin American studies. For inspiration, students are encouraged to research the history of bookplates and to explore the Quiñones-Keber collection on the First Floor North. The winning design will be printed and placed on the endcaps of the bookshelves of the collection and appear digitally on the Fresno State Library’s website, social media accounts, brochures and other promotional materials. All submissions must be original work.

The Prize

The winning student artist will:

  • Receive $500 USD
  • Be recognized at Bookplate Installation event in May 2026
  • Have their design appear with the Quiñones-Keber collection and on the library website.

Contest Guidelines

  • This contest is open to all currently enrolled Fresno State students.
  • All submissions must be original art/illustrations. No stock images, clip art, copyrighted work, or AI generated/altered work will be accepted.
  • The likeness of Dr. Quiñones-Keber may not be used.
  • Submissions must be 14 x 19.5in at 300 DPI with a portrait orientation in a .png or .pdf file format.
  • Entries must be submitted by Friday, March 13th, 2026 at 11:59pm.

Enter the design contest here!