News & Blog

How do we define American history? Who decides what information is important to study and remember? Do we only look at the ‘good’ or lionize notable figures by placing them on pedestals and forgetting they were only human? Or do we do the hard work of studying primary sources and reading about all the facets of historic American figures? Do we learn about past mistakes and hidden horrors so we can prevent them from happening in the future?

As an academic library, UCF Libraries is committed to not only teaching our community how to do their own research and providing scholarly resources but to broadening our own horizons and looking critically at our national past. After all, America is us, the people who live, work, dream, hope and endure on these shores. It is shaped by our ideals and grows as her people do into the future we want for ourselves and future generations. The American dream is not static; it is what we want it to be.

The more informed and engaged we all are as citizens, the better our country becomes. To help with being informed, UCF Libraries has suggested 16 books on American History. Click on the link below to see the full list, descriptions, and catalog links for the featured titles on American History suggested by UCF Library employees.

Featured Bookshelf: 2021 American History

For members of the Knight community looking for ways to get involved are many options available:

• Volunteer in local communities. VolunteerUCF can help you connect with an organization.
• Join a student group to make a difference here at UCF. The Office of Student Involvement has a list of almost 800 student organizations that can meet any interest.  
• Connect with your federal, state, and local representatives. You can let them know your opinions on pending legislation, volunteer, or even thank them if you think they’re doing a good job. Don’t know who your legislators are? Check out this list at USA.gov.
• Most importantly, if you haven’t done so already, register to vote. If you have voted in previous elections, confirm you are still registered. Find details for how to register in your home state at Vote.gov.

The John C. Hitt Study Rooms on the 1^st and 4^th floors are back for group use by UCF students, faculty and staff. If you are looking for a place to work on group projects or just a quiet place to study with friends, the group study rooms are the place to be. There are even spiffy new rooms on the 1^st floor of the 21^st Century Library addition where you can be seen but not interrupted.

Rooms can be reserved for up to 4 consecutive hours a day as much as 7 days in advance.

The rooms can still be booked for single use too. They’re a great place to take an online exam or do a virtual job interview.

Check study room availability, capacity, and book one at library.ucf.edu/services/study-rooms/

The UCF Libraries is excited to invite our Knights to help us choose our new Founding Dean of Libraries. The new dean will help shape the library’s vision in support of UCF’s future as a leading research university serving a diverse community. Three finalists have been chosen for this exciting position and we hope you can join us in a series of online forums as the candidates engage with our students, faculty, and staff as part of the interview process. These forums will occur on Wednesday – June 30, Thursday – July 1, and Friday – July 2. To read more about each candidate as well as access the forums and feedback forms, please visit https://provost.ucf.edu/news/community-engagement/search-begins-for-ucfs-founding-dean-of-libraries/

The Ask A Librarian Featured Question series answers the most commonly asked question of the previous month. June 2021 focuses on patent & trademark research with the question “How can the John C. Hitt Library help me with Patent and Trademark research?”

The video that was here is out of date and has been archived. Click here to download the video for viewing.

The John C. Hitt Library at the University of Central Florida is a Patent and Trademark Resource Center (PTRC) and is one of three in the state of Florida. The other two are in Ft. Lauderdale and Miami.

This service is available to all UCF affiliated persons and all members of the public. Our PTRC representative is Librarian Missy Murphey. She can help you with how to use search tools to access patents and trademark information. Please note that she cannot provide legal advice.

We have very helpful libguides chock-full of great information you can take a look at:

• Patents: guides.ucf.edu/patents
• Trademarks: guides.ucf.edu/trademarks

You can also schedule an appointment to meet one-on-one with Missy to learn how to use the search tools.

UCF InfoSec, along with UCF Libraries and UCF IT, would like to remind students of the dangers of downloading pirated software, textbooks, or other materials.  Recently, a European research institute lost a week’s worth of COVID-19 research data after a university student inadvertently infected their systems with ransomware while trying to download pirated software. To learn more about the ransomware attack, please see the link below.

Pirated textbooks or software can be appealing to those looking to save money, but it’s important to remember that such resources could be laced with malware.  To help students find affordable alternatives to pirated textbooks and software, we asked UCF Libraries and UCF IT to share resources that are available to UCF students.

1. UCF Libraries resources

UCF Libraries, through their Textbook Affordability program, works with campus partners and faculty to minimize the cost of course materials for students.  Since 2016, UCF faculty have taught over 950 classes using open or library-sourced materials, in turn reaching over 65,000 students and potentially saving them just over $6,761,705.

The UCF Libraries website contains tips for students to save money on textbooks.  For more information, and to see if the library has your course text as a free electronic book, review the Students tab at:  guides.ucf.edu/textbook-affordability/students .

Please note that, due to licensing requirements, only current students, staff, and faculty can access the free electronic books and resources through the UCF Libraries. Do not share the downloaded files; instead, share links to the catalog or databases for individuals to access the materials directly.

Sharing resources licensed by UCF can put the university at risk. Distribution of licensed materials accessed with UCF credentials could provide grounds for a breach of contract claim against UCF, which creates a legal liability for our university and potential loss of access to those resources. Similarly, participation in this type of distribution may result in legal and/or disciplinary consequences to the individual sharing content in this way. For more information, please see UCF Policies 2-103 and 4-002:  policies.ucf.edu.

2. UCF IT Resources

UCF students have access to the Microsoft 365 suite of apps, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access, and Publisher, through their Knights email.  To learn how to access this free resource, please visit UCF IT Knowledge Base –Installing Office 365 on a Personal PC .

UCF Apps is a software streaming service like a virtual computer lab.  Students can access many software titles they need for their studies including ArcGIS, SPSS, LISREL, NVivo, SAS, and more!  UCF Apps is found here:  apps.ucf.edu/ucf-apps/

UCF Public Computing labs, found in various locations across campus, provide additional software resources like Adobe Creative Cloud for design work and a wide variety of other software titles.  Information about public computer lab locations and availability can be found here:  it.ucf.edu/techcommons/computer-labs/tech-commons-ii-lab/

Remember to only download software and digital textbooks from reputable sources.  Avoid pirated content to reduce the risk of malware infecting your system and make sure your devices are up to date.  Taking these steps to keep your system secure will help protect you, UCF, and your fellow Knights.

Learn more about the ransomware attack:  https://news.sophos.com/en-us/2021/05/06/mtr-in-real-time-pirates-pave-way-for-ryuk-ransomware/

UCF InfoSec wishes all students a safe, secure summer.  We are here to help with any information security concerns you may have.  Forward suspicious emails to the Security Incident Response Team at SIRT@ucf.edu and contact InfoSec at infosec@ucf.edu if you have any questions.