News & Blog

Join the UCF Libraries in celebrating Día de los Muertos or Day of the Dead.  This is a traditional Mexican holiday when families and friends gather to honor and remember those that have died.  Typically on Day of the Dead, elaborate altars are created and offerings are made to aid loved ones on their spiritual journey.

Thursday, November 2

10:30am-12:00pm
Documentary Film and Discussion with Anthropology professor Dr. Beatriz Reyes-Foster

12:30-2:00pm
Dia de los Muertos Craft Table – color calaveras (skulls), and make marigolds and papel picado, which are often used to decorate altars honoring the deceased

For more information about Día de los Muertos events in the library and related UCF resources visit: guides.ucf.edu/dayofthedead  

“OPEN ACCESS: ONLY YOU CAN PREVENT KNOWLEDGE THEFT.”

OCTOBER 23-29, 2017

The world of Open Access is a wild place! Explore the ins and outs of Open Access and what it means for you as a student and/or content creator with the UCF Library and earn badges in the process! There will be four opportunities to earn OA Wild badges. The more you earn the bigger the prize!
1 badge = A snack to fuel your OA Wild Exploration
2 badges = A UCF Libraries Duck Sticker
3 badges = A UCF Libraries Rubber Ducky
4 badges = A Grand Prize Pack

Oct 23 11 a.m.-2 p.m. What kind of OA Guide are you Quiz
Stop by the John C. Hitt Library and pick up your OA Wild passport. Once you have your passport, show off your OA knowledge and earn your first badge! The first 200 participants to complete the quiz will receive a delicious cookie from Insomnia Cookies to fuel you on your OA adventure!

Oct 24 2:00-3:00 pm Are you an Intellectual Cat Burglar? – John C. Hitt Library Rm 223
Are you an intellectual cat burglar? In this fast paced game participants will show off their knowledge related to Open Access, avoiding plagiarism and staying on the right side of academic integrity. Participants will earn an OA Wild badge for their passports.

Oct. 25 2:30-3:30 Creative Commons 101 – John C. Hitt Library Rm 235C
Calling all artists, musicians and writers! You’ve put your heart and a whole lot of energy into creating a new work and the next step is to share it with the world, but what’s the best way to do that, and keep it safe? This workshop will explore the variety of licenses available for creative works, how to license your work, where to share it and retain your rights. Participants will earn an OA Wild badge.

Oct. 26 10:30-11:30 You’ve Finished Your Research…Now What? – John C. Hitt Library Rm 235C
The research is complete and you’ve written your findings, now you’re ready to join the scholarly conversation, but you want to make sure you publish it in the right place to fit your future plans. This workshop will explore the publishing options available and the pros and cons of each model. Join us to learn more about traditional scholarly publishing, open access options and utilizing institutional repositories to make your research widely available. Participants will earn an OA Wild badge.

If you are interested in exploring more about Open Access, check out the official OA Week website: http://www.openaccessweek.org/

UCF Diversity Week, October 16 – 20, is a celebration of our diverse community and an opportunity to explore topics across the broad range of human identity, experience, and interaction. Diversity Week activities are intended to stimulate our campus and move us to a more inclusive culture. The theme for 2017 is Transform and Inspire Inclusion.

As part of the UCF Libraries’ enthusiastic support of maintaining an inclusive space in the UCF community, we are offering several workshops and activities through the week. The workshops include a Zine Workshop, fiber art demonstration, and how to start a family search. The first of our additional activities is just inside the entrance to the library where students can add a leaf to our tree saying how they inspire inclusion at UCF. The second activity is a map on the 3rd floor where faculty, staff, and students can place a pin in the area where they and their families have lived.

For more detailed information about the UCF Libraries Diversity Week events visit: guides.ucf.edu/diversityweek

October is American Archives Month! And today, October 4^th, is #AskAnArchivist day. However, you can ask the archivists at UCF any questions any day so this year we decided to ask our interns, who may be archivists in the future, and employees about archives in general.

So first, what is an archive?

                “An archive can best be defined as a collection of significant items that are preserved for the purpose of research. There are many types of archives that have special subjects attached to them, but most are general in what is stored within them: publications, documents, ephemera, and even art. The history behind the items can help a researcher get to an understanding and answer questions that would otherwise linger as unanswered.” –Steven Trelstad, History graduate intern

                “An archive can be a physical place such as a large and insulated room in a library, museum or government building that houses its collections in boxes placed on shelves. An archive can also be an online entity where the collections are stored digitally.” – Bryan McDonough, History undergraduate intern

What’s your favorite thing about working in an archive?

                “I love how archives bring the past, present and future together.” – Kryslynn Collazo, History undergraduate intern

                “What I enjoy most about working in an archive is the ability to physically handle primary sources of information.” – Bryan McDonough, History undergraduate intern

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Every October UCF celebrates Diversity Week. This year’s dates are October 16 – 20, and the theme is Transform and Inspire Inclusion. University-wide departments and groups champion the breadth and culture within the UCF community, and work to increase acceptance and inclusion for everyone at UCF and the surrounding communities.

One of the fantastic things about UCF is the wide range of cultures and ethnicities of our students, staff, and faculty. We come from all over. We’re just as proud of where we are from as we are of where we are now.

For information about the Library Diversity Week activities visit: guides.ucf.edu/diversityweek

Join the UCF Libraries as we celebrate diverse voices and subjects with the suggestions in the link below. You can also see a physical display with these books on the 2nd floor of the John C. Hitt Library next to the bank of two elevators.

Featured Bookshelf: UCF Celebrates Diversity