News & Blog

The national celebration of African American History was started by Carter G. Woodson, a Harvard-trained historian and the founder of the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History, and first celebrated as a weeklong event in February of 1926. After a half century of overwhelming popularity, the event was expanded to a full month in 1976 by President Gerald Ford.

Here at UCF Libraries we believe that knowledge is key to living a good life and that sharing information benefits everyone. This is why our featured bookshelf suggestions range from celebrating outstanding African Americans to having difficult conversations about racism and American History. We are proud to present our top 24 favorite books by, and/or about, African Americans.

Click on the link below to see the full list, descriptions, and catalog links for the Black History Month titles suggested by UCF Library employees. These 24 books plus many, many more are also on display on the 2nd (main) floor of the John C. Hitt Library next to the bank of two elevators. Blu-rays and DVDs for documentaries and popular films are also included in the display.

Featured Bookshelf: Black History Month

Raynette Kibbee, Senior Administrative Assistant in Library Administration, has been a part of UCF for most of the University’s existence!  Raynette was a UCF student in the seventies, and started work in the library in June 1985, when campus had more of a “small school atmosphere”.  The 1984 expansion and renovation of the library building had just been completed, and the 21st Century Library project is underway as she retires.  Raynette’s responsibilities in Library Administration have given her the chance to meet and interact with many people on campus and in the libraries.

We will miss Raynette but wish her the very best.  We know she will visit now and then.  Once a Knight, always a Knight!

Knights we need your help! Our dear friend Alice was doing research on the history of alternate realities and she has gone missing! Can you help us trace her research path and scholarly conversations? Join us February 18-21st on our quest to find Alice. At each event participants will be given a clue to help locate Alice. Collect all four clues for the ultimate prize! Can’t make all four events, no worries! The more events you attend the more prizes you will receive.

Monday, February 18, 10 am – 1 pm: Are you mad enough to join the Academic Alice Search Team?
Stop by the library lobby between 10-1 and take our quiz to see if you have the skills to join our search team! Participants will receive a snack to fuel their search as well as the first clue to finding Alice.

Tuesday, February 19, 10 – 11 am: READ ME: Understanding the Clues all around you.
In this workshop participants will uncover the secret codes embedded in scholarly conversations that can help readers quickly identify the information they need to know, who to trust, & where to start their investigations. Participants will find another clue in our hunt for Alice. Location: RM 235A

Wednesday, February 20, 1:30 – 2:30 pm: Falling Down the Rabbit Hole.
In this workshop participants will discover how to follow the clues to trace a scholarly conversation through time from the beginning to the present and beyond. Participants will receive the penultimate clue in our quest to find Alice. Location: RM 235A

Thursday, February 21, 10 – 11 am: Returning from Wonderland.
When is a tweet as important as a journal article? Does it matter which journal an article is published in? Are books always better? Join us as we explore how the context in which a scholarly conversation happens can provide important clues about who can be trusted and when you are being hoodwinked. The final clue to Alice’s location will be revealed! Location: RM 235A

We apologize for the fluctuating cold temperatures in the John C. Hitt Library due to the ongoing construction.

Join us for the 2019 total lunar eclipse! We start the fun on Thursday, Jan. 17 and end it with a late night viewing of the eclipse on Sunday, Jan. 20th.

Create a Moon Phase Calendar/Calculator
Thurs, January 17, 2019 12pm – 3pm
John C. Hitt Library
Main Floor

A free craft event to ring in the new year by making your own 2019 Moon Phase Calendar and Calculator. We will have a table set up on the main floor of the John C. Hitt Library starting at 12:00 noon for the DIY project.

New Insights into an Old Moon
Talk by Dr. Adrienne Dove
Thurs, January 17, 2019
3:30pm
John C. Hitt Library
Rm 223

Dr. Adrienne (Addie) Dove is a planetary scientist and Assistant Professor in the Department of Physics at the University of Central Florida (UCF). She received her BS in Physics from the University of Missouri in 2006, and her PhD in Astrophysics and Planetary Science from the University of Colorado – Boulder in 2012. She is passionate about space and space exploration (both human and robotic) and educating people about science and exploration. In July, 2017, Dr. Dove was awarded the Susan Niebur Award Early Career Award by the NASA Solar System Exploration Virtual Research Institute (SSERVI) for her contributions to the science and exploration communities.

Kights Under the Stars
View the total lunar eclipse
Sun, January 20, 2019
11pm – 1am
Memory Mall

For more information visit

“Knights Under the Stars” Public Event Schedule – UCF Planetary Sciences Group

Follow the UCF Robinson Observatory and Library on Twitter or Facebook for updates including possible weather delays or cancellations.