News & Blog

The 17^th Annual Student Book Arts Competition Exhibit is now open at the 4th Floor Gallery of the John C. Hitt Library. Sponsored by UCF Libraries Special Collections & University Archives, the competition invited UCF and Rollins College students to submit one-of-a-kind artist books. Unlike traditional books, artist books are handmade to reflect the personal artistic visions of their creators ranging from narrative storytelling through but not limited to drawing, painting, printmaking, photography, and/or text. The 17^th Annual Student Book Arts Competition Exhibit showcases of all entries created during the 2022-2023 academic calendar year.

Our guest judge for the competition was Karen Esteves, an artist, designer, and educator from Winter Gardens, Florida. Karen is an active member of College Book Art Association, The Movable Book Society, Chicago, IL, Book Arts Guild of Central Florida, Winter Park, FL and the Florida Craft Society, in St. Petersburg, FL.

This year the competition awarded two students.

“So I’ve Been Told ” by Stacie Becker (UCF) and “In Your Car” by Taylor Ingrassia (Rollins College). Both winners represented the creativity and craftsmanship of artist books and will be part of the Book Arts & Typography Collection at Special Collections & University Archives. Congratulations to both winners!

The exhibit runs from May 2023 – July 2023 which features all student book arts entries and select past winners.

Location: 4th Floor Gallery, John C. Hitt Library

Hours: 9 am – 4 pm Monday through Friday; closed weekends

For more information: speccoll@ucf.edu

We are happy to announce that the John C. Hitt Library and the Curriculum Materials Center has free activity kits for kids. Whether your little ones need something to do while you study or just want a fun take-home activity, please stop by the Circulation desk at the John C. Hitt Library or the CMC for a kit!

The kits include stickers, crayons, and coloring pages.

Welcome to the twelfth installment of Diamond’s Hidden Gems, a blog series in which I introduce you to the University of Central Florida’s library services that you may not have known about!

Are you interested in learning a new language? From refreshing your knowledge of French from those classes you took in high school to taking on the challenge of Korean or Igbo, Mango Languages has all of the resources you need to progress!

Below, I give a brief rundown of the content Mango Languages has to offer and maybe how to say a phrase or two in Pirate*!

The UCF Libraries, in collaboration with the Department of Modern Languages, hosts Mango Languages Learning, a database and self-learning software that includes more than 70 languages with lessons that teach real-world conversation skills.

The software can be easily used online on a desktop or as mobile app, making it versatile for students learning on the go. Access is available to all UCF students and employees; simply navigate to the Mango Languages page on UCF Libraries and select “Mango Languages”.

If you’d like to learn more about Mango Languages, please visit Diamond’s Hidden Gems – Mango Languages in STARS!

If you haven’t checked out the Mango Languages art wall, go visit the John C. Hitt library to see some amazing designs. Display your linguistic prowess by flaunting (putting stickers representing) how many languages you know!

*By the way, I haven’t forgotten: “blow me down” is equivalent to “oh my gosh” in Pirate, but to “blow a man down” means to kill him

Need writing assistance while you’re here in the library? Visit the Drop-in Writing Lab; no appointment necessary. Tutors from the University Writing Center will be in room 320 of the John C. Hitt Library to offer assistance and answer questions from 11am-2pm on

• April 5 & 6
• April 12th & 13th
• April 19th & 20th

Welcome to the eleventh installment of Diamond’s Hidden Gems, a blog series in which I introduce you to the University of Central Florida’s library services that you may not have known about!

With the end of the Spring 2023 semester right around the corner, finals are much closer than we like to think they are. Preparing for these exams are half the battle, especially when we can’t find peace and quiet at our respective homes, nor can we void ourselves of the distractions of the student union and nearby cafes.

I can help with that! Below, I provide some pretty useful information about my favorite study spaces!

Finding areas that are relatively quiet, conducive to learning, and available is increasingly difficult as the day goes on. Some areas are too loud, some are too hot, and some are just simply too popular, and you can never find a space to sit and work.

The list below is some of my favorite study spaces; fit with desks, computers, and relative quiet (from simple chatter to complete silence), these areas are the perfect places to get some work done on campus.

• The Curriculum Materials Center (CMC) (Ed Complex room 194)
• The 5th Floor of the John C. Hitt Library
• Trevor Colbourn Hall (TCH)
• Classroom Building 1 Computer Lab (Room 101)

If you’d like to learn more about these study spaces, check out Diamond’s Hidden Gems – Study Spaces in STARS!