News & Blog

Congratulations to Ven Basco, 2019 recipient of the Excellence in Librarianship award! Ven is an important part of the Research and Information Services Department. We are happy to see his outstanding accomplishments and professionalism recognized! Ven is the Engineering Librarian at UCF. He provides research assistance, instruction, outreach, and collection management to support programs dependent upon the engineering and computer sciences. Again, congratulations, Ven!

Congratulations to Richard Harrison, of the UCF Library’s Research & Information Services! At Founders Day, he received the Faculty Senate Service award, for representing the library faculty for ten years in the UCF Faculty Senate. Thank you, Richard!

Flights of Fancy: Joy Postle’s Birds
April 2019
UCF Library Main Floor
Artist, Poet and Entertainer Joy Postle was one of Florida’s pioneering Naturalists, but perhaps is best known for her entertaining and educational stage shows titled “Glamor Birds” in which she would paint Florida’s birds while sharing bird songs, music and poetry. This exhibit highlights some of her bird painting and poetry.

Nature Poetry on Display
April 2019
UCF Library – Featured Bookshelf
Main Floor – Knowledge Commons
Stop by the John C. Hitt Library main floor to peruse or check out books about nature poetry to help celebrate National Poetry Month. Get inspired to write your own poetry or feel connected to the Earth by looking through our featured selections. You’ll find the nature poetry on the bottom two shelves of the display next to the bank of two elevators.

Plant Pressing Workshop
Thursday, April 11, 2019
10:30-11:30
UCF Arboretum Nature Pavilion
Join Arboretum Staff for a fun and educational hands-on experience learning plant collection, and pressing techniques in our beautiful campus natural lands. This imPRESSive workshop will focus on the history, and value in preserving plant specimens for education and art! We will begin with a brief introduction, followed by our staff leading participants in a plant collection adventure, and ending with guiding you through plant pressing techniques that you can do on your own!  You will be able to collect, press, and preserve your specimens then retrieve them from the library once they are dry! We look forward to seeing you in the woods!

Nature Writing on Display
April 22-26, 2019
UCF Library – Featured Bookshelf
Main Floor – Knowledge Commons
Stop by the John C. Hitt Library main floor to browse featured selections on Nature Writing. Come to read about how to write about nature, why we should protect our lands, and what benefits nature can add to our busy lives! Feel free to check out these books or enjoy them at the library.

Arbor Day Hike
Wednesday, April 17, 2019
UCF Arboretum
Join the Arboretum in celebrating Arbor Day! We will be hosting a fun-filled day of activities including a guided trail hike, and tree planting event in the Arboretum.  Help us plant trees, and celebrate our beautiful campus natural lands!  Nature pavilion activities will include FREE FOOD (please RSVP through Knight Connect), native Florida flora and fauna education, personalized tree ring “crafting” fun, seeding activities, and geocaching!  See our flyer and social media outlets for activity times.  See you in the woods!

The Unseen Arboretum Workshop
Thursday, April 25, 2019
5:00-7:00 pm
UCF Arboretum Nature Pavilion
Come join us for a hands-on workshop at the UCF Nature Pavilion to observe nature in the flesh! Based on the book by David G. Haskell, “The Forest Unseen,” participants will head into the woods around the UCF Arboretum to observe a 1 meter square space. Participants are encouraged to utilize photography, sketching, or audio/video recordings to document their observations led by the guidance from a naturalist. Come find out about the natural history of our area and to produce a brief guidebook commemorating your experience.

Sea-Level Rise Planning in Central Florida Talk & Discussion
Tuesday, April 30, 2019
11:00 am -12:30 pm
UCF Library, Room 223
Come join Stetson University Associate Professor of Environmental Science and Studies and Faculty Director for the Institute of Water and Environmental Resilience, Dr. Jason Evans, on an engaging and thought provoking lecture and discussion regarding Central Florida’s plan for sea-level rise. Trained as a landscape and systems ecologist, most of Dr. Evan’s recent research has focused on climate change adaptation within coastal communities, with a particular focus on seal-level rise. Largely through research support provided through the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), over the past several years he has conducted flood vulnerability assessments for numerous local governments in the southeast United States. Some of these communities include Monroe County, the Village of Islamorada, Satellite Beach, and New Smyrna Beach, FL; Tybee Island and St. Mary’s, GA; Hyde County, NC; and Beaufort, SC. Dr. Evans also serves as Co-Editor-in-Chief for the Journal of Environmental Management, a leading international publication within the fields of environmental science, engineering, and planning.

For more information about Naturally UCF visit: guides.ucf.edu/naturally-ucf

Welcome to National Poetry Month!

“Loveliest of trees, the cherry now
Is hung with bloom along the bough,  
And stands about the woodland ride  
Wearing white for Eastertide.

Now, of my threescore years and ten,
Twenty will not come again,
And take from seventy springs a score,
It only leaves me fifty more.

And since to look at things in bloom
Fifty springs are little room,
About the woodlands I will go
To see the cherry hung with snow.”
– A. E. Housman, Loveliest of Trees

The Academy of American Poets, inspired by the success of Black History Month and Women’s History Month, created National Poetry Month in 1996. It is the largest literary celebration in the world and UCF Libraries are proud to do their part.

UCF Libraries have gathered suggestions to feature 14 books of poetry that are currently in the UCF collection. These works represent a wide range of favorite poetry books of our faculty and staff.

These, and additional titles, are also on the Featured Bookshelf display on the second (main) floor next to the bank of two elevators where they are joined by a selection of nature poetry.

Click on the link below for the full book descriptions and links.

Featured Bookshelf: National Poetry Month

Beginning April 1st, 2019, the library will need to close off access to all stairwells and elevators. But don’t worry! Thanks to a very generous funding grant and some morally dubious genetics work, the library is proud to offer a variety of pegasi for patrons to choose from. Each pegasus can be checked out for up to four hours with one renewal per day allowed. All the pegasi are well trained and can ferry patrons to any floor of the library and back down to the ground floor. Dismounting can be a little tricky though the ride is well worth it! But don’t take our word for it! Visit the library today and let us know what you think of the newest addition to our catalog!