News & Blog

On July13th the UCF Libraries switches to Primo, a new library system replacing the library catalog and QuickSearch.

Primo is a next-generation integrated library system (ILS) that leverages cloud-based services and offers a responsive web and mobile design. Primo will improve access to materials and enhance the user experience for students, faculty, and staff. Specifically, Primo allows for:

• searching across books, chapters, articles, videos, and many other document types,
• cross searching the library collections of all 40 Florida public universities and state colleges, and
• virtual browsing, to show book jackets and titles organized as they would appear on the shelf.  This feature is especially useful as more items are stored in the Automated Retrieval Center (ARC).

Migrating to Primo means that links to the old library catalog and to QuickSearch will stop working.  Links that need to be updated include:

• all links to the current library catalog, including records for books, ebooks, videos, and other documents,
• all links to content on QuickSearch (EBSCO Discovery Service), including articles, book chapters, Research Starters, and other documents, and
• all links created using the QuickSearch Lite tool in Canvas.

Please contact your Subject Librarian for assistance with updating course links, chat with library staff real time for an immediate response to questions, or use Report a Problem for issues with accessing electronic materials or other library resources.  

Take a look at Primo!  Contact Library Instruction to schedule an introduction to Primo for your class.

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.